Senior QA Testing & Automation​/McLean, VA; Onsite

Senior QA Testing & Automation

Location:

McLean, Virginia | Contract with potential for extension | The Role

We are seeking a Senior QA Testing & Automation Consultant to support a major modernization program. This role sits within the UAT team and is responsible for ensuring high-quality delivery across User Acceptance Testing (UAT), requirements validation, change management, and cutover readiness. This is a consultative, client-facing role requiring strong collaboration with both business and technology stakeholders. The ideal candidate will bring a balance of UAT leadership, QA strategy, and automation expertise, with the ability to operate at both a strategic and hands-on level.

What You'll Do

• Lead UAT strategy and execution across the modernization program, including planning, coordination, and governance of UAT activities
• Act as a bridge between business and technology teams, ensuring requirements are clearly understood, validated, and testable
• Define and maintain end-to-end traceability from business requirements through test scenarios, execution, and defect resolution
• Partner with business stakeholders to validate requirements, challenge assumptions, and ensure solutions meet business intent
• Design, develop, and oversee execution of manual and automated test cases, aligning testing efforts with business-critical outcomes
• Drive test automation adoption by aligning frameworks (e.g., Selenium, Cypress) to support UAT efficiency and repeatability
• Manage and assess change requests, performing impact analysis and ensuring appropriate test coverage across affected areas
• Support cutover planning and execution, including readiness assessments, defect triage, and go-live support
• Provide UAT status reporting, risk identification, and escalation management to program leadership
• Contribute to continuous improvement of QA and UAT practices, particularly within large-scale transformation environments

What We're Looking For

• Strong consulting background with the ability to operate in a client-facing role, drive discussions, and influence both business and technology stakeholders
• Background in financial services such as banking & payments with an understanding of regulatory and data-driven testing considerations
• Proven leadership in User Acceptance Testing (UAT), including planning, coordination, execution oversight, and business validation across complex, enterprise programs
• Demonstrated experience translating business requirements into end-to-end test strategies, ensuring full traceability from requirements through test execution and defect resolution
• Ability to challenge, refine, and validate requirements in partnership with business stakeholders, not just test against them
• Experience managing change requests, impact assessments, and testing scope adjustments within fast-moving delivery environments
• Hands-on experience with test automation frameworks (e.g., Selenium, Cypress), with the ability to align automation efforts to UAT and business validation goals
• Strong communication skills with experience working across cross-functional teams, including Product, BA, QA, and Release/Deployment teams