Quality Assurance Engineer

Position Description

As a QA Engineer at CostQuest Associates, you will help ensure the quality, reliability, and performance of a wide variety of software products and projects. You will design, develop, and maintain automated test solutions across user interfaces, APIs, backend services, and data workflows, while also supporting targeted manual testing when appropriate.

You will serve as a quality advocate throughout the software development lifecycle by partnering with product and development teams, strengthening test coverage, integrating automated testing into CI/CD pipelines, and identifying issues early. If you are ambitious, eager to learn, and interested in elevating product standards and customer satisfaction, this role offers an opportunity to make a meaningful impact.

Position Responsibilities:

§ Develop and execute comprehensive test plans, test cases, and automated test scripts for functional, regression, smoke, integration, and end-to-end testing

§ Design, maintain, and improve scalable automation frameworks for web applications, APIs, and backend services

§ Perform API validation, contract testing, mocking, and data validation to identify schema, integration, and compatibility issues early

§ Integrate automated test suites into CI/CD pipelines and use test results to support reliable, efficient releases

§ Conduct load, performance, and scalability testing; monitor results and partner with developers to investigate issues

§ Validate data integrity using SQL queries across relational databases, including PostgreSQL

§ Collaborate with developers, product managers, designers, and other stakeholders to review requirements, define acceptance criteria, and improve testability

§ Identify, document, prioritize, and track defects using established quality and project management tools

§ Contribute to project documentation, including requirements, test evidence, design specifications, release documentation, and user manuals

§ Promote automation and quality engineering best practices, including reusable test components, page-object patterns, and maintainable test data

§ Adhere to project schedules, prioritize tasks, and meet deadlines while maintaining strong quality standards and attention to detail

Education:

§ Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or a related field; equivalent professional experience and demonstrated software quality engineering expertise may be considered

Required Skills:

§ 3+ years of experience in software quality assurance, including automated testing

§ Hands-on experience building and maintaining testing automation with Playwright

§ Experience testing REST APIs using tools or frameworks such as Postman or REST Assured

§ Understanding of API validation and contract testing concepts, including OpenAPI specifications, mocking, and schema validation

§ Proficiency with JavaScript or TypeScript; experience with Python or Java is beneficial

§ Familiarity with JIRA/Xray is a plus

§ Working knowledge of HTML and CSS for user interface testing and troubleshooting

§ Working knowledge of SQL and relational databases, including PostgreSQL

§ Experience integrating automated tests into CI/CD workflows using tools such as GitHub Actions

§ Experience with functional, regression, smoke, end-to-end, load, and performance testing

§ Strong understanding of the software development lifecycle and Agile/Scrum practices

§ Ability to collaborate effectively with technical and non-technical stakeholders, listen, learn, and communicate quality risks clearly

§ Strong attention to detail, analytical thinking, and solution-oriented problem-solving skills

§ Comfort working in a fast-changing market and balancing multiple priorities

Other Requirements:

§ Occasional travel to Seattle and elsewhere.

§ To meet the U.S. Government clearance requirements for this opportunity, candidates must be eligible to work in the United States.

§ Ability to pass a U.S. Public Trust background investigation for access to the client site and computing systems. You must have lived in the U.S. for the past three (3) years.

§ All candidates will be subject to a background check and pre-employment drug screening.

Compensation & Benefits:

§ Competitive Salary and Benefits § Job Type: Full-time, Permanent § Bonus Pay and Profit Sharing

§ Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)

§ 401(k) matching § Health insurance

§ Company paid Dental, Vision, Life, and LTD insurance § Employee assistance program § Flexible schedule § Health savings account § Vacation (15 days – increasing with years of service), Sick (5 days) o (Days will be adjusted first year, based on date of hire)

§ 10 Paid Holidays § Parental leave § Professional development assistance § Tuition reimbursement

Schedule:

§ Monday to Friday

Ability to commute/relocate:

§ Reliably commute or planning to relocate before starting work to Cincinnati, OH 45202.

Work Location

Hybrid schedule is an option in Cincinnati, OH 45202.

Who We Are

CostQuest Associates is a broadband consulting firm offering a variety of specialized consulting services, GIS data, and application products. Our team utilizes GIS (Geographic Information System) solutions to design, develop, and implement economic models, applications, and geographic data to support the broadband telecommunications ecosystem.

We are a small company with a large profile, in constant pursuit of new challenges to expand our competencies. Our customers range from Fortune 100 companies, such as AT&T and Comcast, to government departments at the Federal and State levels. While we are proud of our accomplishments, we define ourselves by the courage to always do what’s right and the resolve to leave no stone unturned.

CostQuest Associates is based in Cincinnati, Ohio, with an office in Seattle, Washington, a presence in Washington, D.C., and a network of experts across the US.

What We Do

CostQuest Associates services government clients and the broadband industry with services related to valuation, appraisal, public policy, engineering cost, and business planning. We excel in custom broadband telecommunication economics work and the creation of niche datasets and applications that enable companies and regulators to make effective, informed decisions, and allocate their capital more efficiently.

Clients such as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the US Department of Commerce have relied on our expertise to inform policy and regulatory decisions. In addition, our valuation and appraisal services support the tax and merger and acquisition initiatives for large services providers and other providers of broadband services.

Equal Opportunity

Employer/Veterans/Disability CostQuest is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on any protected basis.

If you have a disability and need assistance during the application and selection process as a result, please let us know. Arrangements can be made to provide an accommodation to assist you in applying for an open position using our online system or completing any other related paperwork, interviewing, or any portion of the employment process.

Please contact Betsy Thrush at [email protected] if you need an accommodation or other assistance.