{"id":621131,"url":"https://alion.io/job/northrop-grumman-lead-test-automation-engineer-level-4","title":"Lead Test Automation Engineer - Level 4","company":{"id":12494,"name":"Northrop Grumman","domain":"northropgrumman.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/northropgrumman","size_band":"5000+","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Workday","truth_index":{"grade":"B","score":83,"open_postings":389,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":0.689,"repost_share":0.008,"time_to_fill_p50_days":26,"computed_at":"2026-10-24T06:02:35Z"}},"role":"QA","role_family":"QA","seniority":"lead","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"hybrid","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Colorado Springs, United States","United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":117500,"max":176300,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":176300},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":8,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"Agile","optional":false},{"name":"CI/CD","optional":false},{"name":"Threat Modeling","optional":false},{"name":"Azure DevOps","optional":true},{"name":"C#","optional":true},{"name":"C++","optional":true},{"name":"Configuration Management","optional":true},{"name":"Confluence","optional":true},{"name":"Cypress","optional":true},{"name":"Git","optional":true},{"name":"GitHub Actions","optional":true},{"name":"GitLab CI","optional":true},{"name":"Java","optional":true},{"name":"Jenkins","optional":true},{"name":"Jira","optional":true},{"name":"JUnit","optional":true},{"name":"Kanban","optional":true},{"name":"Playwright","optional":true},{"name":"Postman","optional":true},{"name":"Pytest","optional":true},{"name":"Python","optional":true},{"name":"Rest-Assured","optional":true},{"name":"Scrum","optional":true},{"name":"Selenium","optional":true},{"name":"TestNG","optional":true}],"status":"closed","first_seen_at":"2026-09-09T00:00:00Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-09-09","last_verified_at":"2026-10-23T20:15:35Z","board_verified":false,"closed_at":"2026-10-23T20:15:35Z","days_open":44,"trust":{"level":"not_scored","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":44},"description":"RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: No relocation assistance availableCLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: YesCLEARANCE TYPE: SecretTRAVEL: Yes, 10% of the TimeDescription\nAt Northrop Grumman, our employees have incredible opportunities to work on revolutionary systems that impact people's lives around the world today, and for generations to come. Our pioneering and inventive spirit has enabled us to be at the forefront of many technological advancements in our nation's history - from the first flight across the Atlantic Ocean, to stealth bombers, to landing on the moon. We look for people who have bold new ideas, courage and a pioneering spirit to join forces to invent the future, and have fun along the way. Our culture thrives on intellectual curiosity, cognitive diversity and bringing your whole self to work - and we have an insatiable drive to do what others think is impossible. Our employees are not only part of history, they're making history.Northrop Grumman Space Systems, Multi-Domain Operations, and Missile Defense Integration Business Unit (BU) has an exciting career opportunity for a Test Engineer Lead - Test Automation (Level 4) to join our team of qualified, diverse individuals. This position supports the Modeling and Simulation Vistas - Threat and Advanced Simulations Development (MSV-TASD) program and will split time between Schriever Space Force Base (SSFB) and the Northrop Grumman facility in Colorado Springs, CO.\nThis role requires candidates to be onsite daily with very limited remote/hybrid work available.\nPosition Overview:\nThe selected Senior Principal Test Engineer Lead will be part of the TASD Systems Team, overseeing test engineering with a primary focus on automated test design, development, and integration. This position will lead the effort to transform several software projects and their associated application suites from primarily manual test execution to a strategy that relies predominantly on automated testing.\nThe Test Engineer Lead will support the development and verification of TASD software products across the portfolio, including Threat Modeling and Simulation Software (TMSS), Red-Force Objective Simulation Environment (ROSE), Missile Defense Advanced Simulation (MDASim), Threat Generator External (TGx), and the Missile Defense Space Tool (MDST). Responsibilities include designing, testing, analyzing, benchmarking, validating and verifying, documenting, automating, and integrating products for all organizations within the TASD program.\nEssential Functions:\nLeading the definition and implementation of a test automation strategy and roadmap to transition multiple TASD software products from manual to automated testing.\nCreating, selecting, and/or integrating test automation frameworks and tools for unit, API/service, and UI/client-level testing, and defining standards for their use across teams.\nLeading the design and implementation of automated regression, integration, and end-to-end test suites for client, client-server, and cloud-based simulation systems.\nCreating or utilizing test tools and harnesses to support test automation (e.g., scripting, test data setup, environment orchestration) and training other test engineers in their use.\nSupporting agile software teams within the context of a larger program, including embedding automation into CI/CD pipelines and enforcing quality gates.\nSupporting the development of simulation and software architectures, including coaching software teams on building testable and test-friendly applications (e.g., appropriate interfaces, test hooks, logging, and observability).\nLeading the test engineering team in efforts to improve product quality through rigorous testing, analysis, automation, and peer review, including identification and reduction of unreliable or inefficient tests.\nInterfacing with TASD customers and stakeholders, preparing and presenting technical briefings on test strategies, plans, status, and results.\nDefining and tracking test and quality metrics (e.g., automation coverage, defect trends, test stability) and using them to drive continuous improvement.\nThe selected candidate should thrive in a fast-paced work environment with high expectations, significantly diverse assignments, and collaborative team settings across all levels.\nBasic Qualifications:\nBachelor’s Degree in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics) discipline preferred from an accredited university and 8 years of related experience; a Master’s Degree in a STEM discipline and 6 years of related experience; or a PhD with 4 years of related experience.\nSelf starter with the ability to work both independently and in a team environment.\nStrong written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills to collaborate effectively with technical teams and customer personnel.\nFamiliarity with Agile software development practices.\nSolid understanding of the software development lifecycle and how testing and automation integrate into that lifecycle.\nHands on experience designing, developing, and maintaining test automation, including:Experience with at least one automated testing framework (e.g., unit, API, or UI).\nExperience building automated regression suites and integrating them into build or CI pipelines.\n\nExperience successfully leading a team of test engineers, including setting priorities, assigning work, and providing technical direction.\nExperience training or coaching others in development of test automation, such as mentoring manual testers or developers in automation practices and tools.\nAbility to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Government issued secret security clearance, a minimum of an interim secret clearance will be required to start.\nPreferred Qualifications:\nExperience with C++, C#, Java, Python, or other modern development languages, including the ability to read and review production code and contribute to test code.\nExperience with automated test frameworks and tools, such as:\nUnit test frameworks (e.g., JUnit, TestNG, NUnit, xUnit, pytest, or similar).\nAPI test frameworks or tools (e.g., REST Assured, Postman/Newman, Karate, or similar).\nUI/client automation tools (e.g., Selenium WebDriver, Playwright, Cypress, or platform specific desktop UI automation tools).\nExperience in agile software development methodologies including Scrum, Kanban, and Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe).\nExperience engineering modeling and simulation (M&S) systems using an optimistic and/or conservative discrete event simulation platform.\nKnowledge or experience in several of the following: missile defense domain knowledge, command and control, and modeling and simulation development.\nExperience designing or operating CI/CD pipelines (e.g., Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Azure DevOps) that incorporate automated tests and quality gates.\nExperience with Atlassian tools such as Jira, Confluence, and Git (or equivalent work tracking, documentation, and configuration management tools).\nExperience defining and tracking test/quality metrics and using them to influence design, prioritization, and risk management.\nPrimary Level Salary Range: $117,500.00 - $176,300.00The above salary range represents a general guideline; however, Northrop Grumman considers a number of factors when determining base salary offers such as the scope and responsibilities of the position and the candidate's experience, education, skills and current market conditions.Depending on the position, employees may be eligible for overtime, shift differential, and a discretionary bonus in addition to base pay. Annual bonuses are designed to reward individual contributions as well as allow employees to share in company results. Employees in Vice President or Director positions may be eligible for Long Term Incentives. In addition, Northrop Grumman provides a variety of benefits including health insurance coverage, life and disability insurance, savings plan, Company paid holidays and paid time off (PTO) for vacation and/or personal business.The application period for the job is estimated to be 20 days from the job posting date. However, this timeline may be shortened or extended depending on business needs and the availability of qualified candidates.Northrop Grumman is an Equal Opportunity Employer, making decisions without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, or any other protected class. For our complete EEO and pay transparency statement, please visit http://www.northropgrumman.com/EEO. U.S. Citizenship is required for all positions with a government clearance and certain other restricted positions.","description_format":"text","description_chars":8675,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":8,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"bachelor","optional":true},"security_clearance":true,"languages":[]},"benefits":["Annual bonuses","Health insurance","Hybrid work","Insurance coverage","Relocation assistance"],"hiring_locations":[{"name":"United States","iso":"US","kind":"country"}],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":true,"industries":["Government","Space & Aerospace","National Security","Defense Manufacturing"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-09-10T18:41:09Z"},{"event":"close","at":"2026-10-23T20:15:35Z"}],"visa":[],"liveness":null,"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":176300,"is_top_pay":true},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/northrop-grumman-lead-test-automation-engineer-level-4","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/northrop-grumman-lead-test-automation-engineer-level-4.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-25T02:34:46Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":3950,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-10-26T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":12494},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=12494"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fnorthrop-grumman-lead-test-automation-engineer-level-4"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fnorthrop-grumman-lead-test-automation-engineer-level-4"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fnorthrop-grumman-lead-test-automation-engineer-level-4"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/northrop-grumman-lead-test-automation-engineer-level-4\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fnorthrop-grumman-lead-test-automation-engineer-level-4"}]}