Test Engineer (DEA)
Confirmed on the employer's own hiring board on Oct 16, 2026. First seen by Alion on Aug 25, 2026.
Expression is seeking a Tester Engineer to support the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Investigative Case and Data Ecosystem (ICDE) modernization effort. The program will modernize DEA's investigative and case management environment through a centralized, secure, scalable platform supporting integrated workflows, data exchange, mobile capabilities, analytics, and interoperability.
The Test Engineer will design, develop, and execute comprehensive functional testing for Pega applications and related system capabilities. This position will work across engineering, business analysis, and product teams to translate requirements and acceptance criteria into detailed test scenarios, identify and track defects, maintain regression coverage, and support reliable delivery throughout Agile development iterations.
Clearance: Top Secret level required and willingness to pursue SCI.
Location: Arlington, VA. The program is primarily onsite at DEA Headquarters.
Key Responsibilities
- Design, develop, and execute functional test cases for Pega applications, ensuring comprehensive coverage of applicable business workflows.
- Analyze business and system requirements, user stories, and acceptance criteria and translate them into detailed test scenarios.
- Collaborate with developers, business analysts, product stakeholders, and other team members to clarify requirements and establish appropriate test coverage.
- Validate system functionality against business requirements, user stories, and acceptance criteria.
- Identify, document, track, and retest defects, partnering with engineering teams to support timely and thorough resolution.
- Analyze test results, identify risks and quality concerns, and provide clear, actionable feedback to development and product teams.
- Support test planning by defining test scope, estimating effort, identifying dependencies, and contributing to test-strategy development.
- Develop and maintain functional and regression test suites and supporting test artifacts.
- Support User Acceptance Testing, system validation, and testing and validation reporting.
- Contribute to interoperability testing for integrations between system components and external systems.
- Participate in Agile ceremonies, including stand-ups, sprint planning, reviews, and retrospectives.
- Coordinate testing activities throughout development iterations to support frequent delivery and demonstrations of working software.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams to promote quality throughout the SDLC.
- Support defect-resolution feedback loops and communicate testing risks and outcomes to appropriate stakeholders.
- Contribute to continuous improvement of QA processes, test coverage, and testing efficiency.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related fields 2+ years of professional experience.
- Hands-on experience with Pega functional testing tools and QA approaches for Pega applications.
- Strong foundation in Quality Assurance principles, functional testing, test-case development, defect tracking, and regression testing.
- Ability to analyze requirements and translate them into detailed test scenarios while identifying gaps or ambiguities.
- Familiarity with Agile/iterative development methodologies such as Scrum or Kanban.
- Experience working with test-management and defect-tracking tools such as Jira or Azure DevOps.
- Ability to clearly document defects, risks, test results, and improvement recommendations.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills and the ability to collaborate effectively across engineering, business, and product teams.
Preferred Qualifications
- Pega certification, such as CSA, CSSA, or related certification.
- Experience with automated testing tools for Pega applications, including PegaUnit or Selenium for Pega UI.
- Familiarity with Agile-focused testing methodologies across Scrum, SAFe, or hybrid environments.
- Exposure to test-automation or hybrid-testing frameworks.
- Experience participating in CI/CD-integrated testing workflows.
- Experience supporting User Acceptance Testing.
- Experience testing system integrations or interoperability.
- Experience supporting Federal Government or other complex enterprise software modernization programs.
Benefits:
Expression offers competitive salaries and benefits, such as:
- 401k matching
- PPO and HDHP medical/dental/vision insurance
- Education reimbursement up to $10,000/yr
- Complimentary life insurance
- Generous PTO and 11 days of holiday leave
- Onsite gym facility
- Commuter Benefits Plan
- In-office Cold Brew Coffee
About Expression:
Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Washington DC, Expression provides data fusion, data analytics, AI/ML, software engineering, information technology, and electromagnetic spectrum management solutions to the U.S. Department of Defense, Department of State, and national security community. Expression’s culture focuses on creating immediate and sustainable value for our clients via agile delivery of tailored solutions built through constant engagement with our clients. Expression was ranked #1 on the Washington Technology 2018's Fast 50 list of fastest-growing small business Government contractors and a Top 20 Big Data Solutions Provider by CIO Review.
We make sure to provide everyone with the tools and opportunities to grow while working on some of the newest technologies in the industry. We get excited about celebrating our professionals' milestones, accomplishments, promotions, overcoming challenges, and many other aspects that make an engaging collaborative environment.
Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled
Expression is an Equal Opportunity Employer. If you require a reasonable accommodation during the application or interview process, please submit your request to our Human Resources department through the application portal.