Test & Validation Engineer

** This posting is for future business - not yet awarded **

The Test and Validation Lead will establish and manage the program's quality engineering strategy to ensure systems meet functional, performance, security, interoperability, accessibility, and regulatory requirements while supporting NCI's mission of advancing cancer research.

Working closely with the Program Manager, Technical Lead, Software Engineering Lead, Government stakeholders, and technical Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), the Test and Validation Lead will develop comprehensive validation strategies that integrate quality throughout the system development lifecycle. The successful candidate will lead multidisciplinary testing teams and promote modern quality engineering practices that support Agile delivery, Dev Sec Ops , and continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD).

• Lead all verification, validation, and quality engineering activities across enterprise applications, cloud platforms, AI/ML solutions, and biomedical informatics systems.
• Develop and maintain the program's Test and Evaluation Master Plan (TEMP), Validation Strategy, Quality Management Plan, and automated testing framework.
• Define test strategies, acceptance criteria, and validation methodologies for functional, integration, system, regression, performance, security, usability, interoperability, and user acceptance testing.
• Collaborate with Government stakeholders, business analysts, software engineers, AI/ML engineers, and SMEs to ensure requirements are fully testable and traceable from design through deployment.
• Oversee automated testing using CI/CD pipelines and Dev Sec Ops  practices to improve software quality and release efficiency.
• Lead validation of AI and machine learning solutions, including model verification, performance evaluation, explainability, bias assessment, reproducibility, drift monitoring, and ongoing model quality.
• Ensure software and AI systems comply with NIH, HHS, NIST, Section 508, privacy, cybersecurity, and applicable federal quality standards.
• Direct defect management, root cause analysis, corrective actions, and continuous quality improvement initiatives.
• Develop quality metrics, dashboards, and executive reports to communicate testing progress, release readiness, and overall system quality to Government leadership.
• Mentor quality engineers and foster a culture of continuous improvement, automation, and engineering excellence.

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or related field. Master's degree preferred.
• Eight (8) or more years of progressively responsible experience relevant to the position.
• Demonstrated experience supporting NIH, HHS, CMS, or other Federal civilian agencies.
• Experience supporting large Federal IT modernization or systems integration programs.
• Experience implementing automated testing frameworks and integrating quality engineering into Agile and Dev Sec Ops  environments.
• Experience working in Agile development environments and with Dev Sec Ops  practices.
• Strong understanding of software quality assurance methodologies, requirements traceability, risk-based testing, and defect lifecycle management.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to obtain and maintain required Federal suitability or security requirements.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Public Trust / ADPII Clearance.

• Experience with Microsoft Azure, Azure Dev Ops, Kubernetes, REST APIs, Git, CI/CD, and cloud-native architectures.
• Knowledge of Section 508, NIST guidance, FISMA, and Zero Trust principles.
• Relevant professional certifications appropriate to the role (e.g., PMP, Scrum, AWS/Azure, Security+, ISTQB).

• Strong customer focus and mission orientation.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to lead cross-functional teams in a collaborative environment.
• Commitment to quality, innovation, and continuous process improvement.
• Ability to communicate effectively with both technical and executive audiences.

August 25, 2026

For U.S. Positions:
While subject to change based on business needs,…