Staff Software QA Specialist 1
Confirmed on the employer's own hiring board on Oct 18, 2026. First seen by Alion on Sep 17, 2026. Applied Research Associates scores A on the Alion truth index.
***Because of our work with the defense community, applicants must be U.S. citizens.***
ARA is seeking a Staff Software QA Specialist 1 to be part of our team in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. We are a 100% employee-owned scientific research and engineering company dedicated to solving critical national problems to improve our safety, security, and way of life. You will work with other developers and engineers to design and implement quality assurance solutions for a wide range of applications. As a member of our development team, you will work in an agile environment focused on delivering high-quality software to our clients.
What You Will Do
You will be a key member of ARA supporting multiple teams developing enterprise technologies to aid real-world operations for the Navy and military communities. As a valued member of our team your responsibilities will include:
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams to plan and execute manual and automated testing
- Work with cross-functional teams to define a testing vision/test plan with respect to stakeholder goals and customer feedback
- Review requirements, specifications, and technical design documents to create test cases
- Support code reviews and ensure the team is creating adequate unit, regression, and system tests
- Identify, record, and document findings and create reports
Staff Software QA Specialist 1 Required Technologies and Skills
- BA/BS in Computer Science or a related field
- Knowledge of Quality Assurance processes, principles, and methodologies
- Experience in one or more object-oriented programming languages
- Practical experience authoring software test functions using test automation frameworks
- Demonstrated problem-solving and debugging skills
Licenses & Certifications
- US citizen with the ability to obtain DoD Secret clearance
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with one or more frontend libraries (React, Vue, Angular, etc.)
- Experience with C#
- Experience or familiarity with automating QA processes using a continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) platform such as GitLab
Benefits Include
- 401K Matching
- Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)
- Health, Dental, and Vision Insurance
- Paid holidays and Paid Time Off
About Us:
Applied Research Associates, Inc. (aka ARA) is an employee-owned international research and engineering company known for providing technically superior solutions to complex and challenging problems in the physical sciences. We were founded in Albuquerque, NM in 1979 as the disco era was, thankfully, closing out and the personal computer era was beginning. We employ over 2,200 professionals and continue to grow. ARA offices throughout the U.S. and Canada provide a broad range of technical expertise in defense, civil, and health technologies, computer software and simulation, systems analysis, environmental technologies, and testing and measurement. Around ARA you are equally likely to hear a conversation about Kubernetes clusters as you are a debate on merits of a reverse polish notation (RPN) calculator!
While this is all of the Year One and Beyond stuff, Day One is highly impressive too. These are things like our competitive salary, Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) & 401(k) with matching program, benefits package which includes medical, dental vision, flex spending, telehealth services, company-paid life & disability insurance including paid maternity disability leave through our company-paid short-term disability benefit, domestic partner coverage, dependent care flex spending, daycare discounts, pet insurance, relocation opportunities, floating holidays, tuition reimbursement, professional development as well as flexible schedules. ARA also prides ourselves on having a challenging culture where innovation & experimentation are the norm. At ARA, employees are our greatest assets, so we give our employees the tools, training, and opportunities to take active roles as owners. The motto, “Engineering and Science for Fun and Profit” sums up the ARA experience. The company realizes employee ownership spawns greater creativity and initiative along with higher performance and customer satisfaction levels.