Sr SDET

job summary: Randstad is seeking a Senior Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET) to join a mission-critical engineering team delivering a core, enterprise-level Transportation Platform for a major national passenger rail network. This is a highly technical, code-first role within a complex, distributed microservices ecosystem responsible for unified transit status, rail incident management, and real-time operational events. As a senior technical leader, you will design end-to-end test strategies, build robust automated testing frameworks from scratch, and champion a quality-first engineering culture to ensure the ultimate reliability, scalability, and resiliency of systems that keep passengers moving safely every day. location: Washington, Washington, D.C. job type: Contract salary: $35 - 42 per hour work hours: 9am to 5pm education: Bachelors responsibilities: Framework Development: Design, build, and maintain robust, scalable automated testing frameworks for both UI and API layers using Java and TypeScript (Playwright, Selenium, REST-assured, or Karate). Microservices & API Validation: Validate distributed microservices, REST APIs, and core security layers including authentication, authorization (authn/authz), and role-based access control. Data Integrity: Perform complex database record and element validations to ensure data integrity, referential consistency, and correct state transitions across relational and NoSQL databases. Event-Driven Testing: Validate real-time, event-driven process flows and message-based integrations utilizing Kafka or similar streaming technologies. Resiliency & Performance: Develop and execute automated tests for complex resilience scenarios (retries, failure handling, idempotency) and conduct performance/load testing under peak operational conditions. CI/CD Integration: Seamlessly integrate automated test suites into DevOps CI/CD pipelines using Jenkins, GitHub, or Bitbucket. Observability & Triage: Analyze system logs and monitoring telemetry (CloudWatch, Dynatrace, AppDynamics, ELK/EFK stack) to diagnose deep architectural issues and validate system behavior. Technical Leadership: Collaborate directly with Product Owners, Developers, and Architects to define quality gates during early design phases, while mentoring junior engineers in automation best practices. qualifications: Experience: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science (or a related field) OR 7+ years of relevant software testing experience, including 5+ years specializing in enterprise-level test automation. Coding Proficiency: Strong, hands-on programming skills in Java and TypeScript for automation scripting. Technical Domain: Proven experience testing complex microservices-based architectures and solid SQL skills for database validation. Methodology: Extensive experience working in fast-paced Agile environments with strong analytical and distributed problem-solving skills. Preferred Domain Expertise (Plusses): Experience testing heavy workflow-driven operational environments (e.g., logistics, aviation, rail, or financial transactions). Preferred Modern Tech (Plusses): Hands-on experience with Kafka, AWS cloud environments, and performance tools like JMeter. Preferred Legacy Tech (Plusses): Familiarity with validating legacy-to-modern system migrations, including mainframe/green-screen systems (3270) and batch processing. Equal Opportunity Employer: Race, Color, Religion, Sex, Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, National Origin, Age, Genetic Information, Disability, Protected Veteran Status, or any other legally protected group status. At Randstad Digital, we welcome people of all abilities and want to ensure that our hiring and interview process meets the needs of all applicants. If you require a reasonable accommodation to make your application or interview experience a great one, please contact HRsupport@randstadusa.com. Pay offered to a successful candidate will be based on several factors including the candidate's education, work experience, work location, specific job duties, certifications, etc. In addition, Randstad Digital offers a comprehensive benefits package, including: medical, prescription, dental, vision, AD&D, and life insurance offerings, short-term disability, and a 401K plan (all benefits are based on eligibility). This posting is open for thirty (30) days.