Overview:
GovCIO is seeking a SME Quality Assurance Specialist to support a critical government computer system for the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Software Yard – Product Delivery Service. This role is primarily responsible for writing, refining, and translating customer operational needs into clear, testable, and actionable requirements for applications developed by platform-aligned Product Teams. This position will be located in Kearneysville, WV, and will be a hybrid position.
Responsibilities:
As a SME Quality Assurance Specialist, you will serve as a primary technical resource for ensuring delivered software products meet user needs, achieve operational adoption, and sustain mission performance. You will ensure that all requirements provide a solid foundation for user-centric design, robust testing, and rapid deployment. Key responsibilities include:
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Facilitate user engagement sessions and workshops to capture operational needs, clarify ambiguities, and translate them into actionable software requirements.
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Write, refine, and maintain comprehensive customer requirements documents, user stories, and acceptance criteria.
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Ensure all requirements are testable, traceable, and aligned with mission objectives to support robust automated and manual quality assurance testing.
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Assist Product Owners and end users in articulating their functional needs and prioritizing requirements based on operational impact and urgency.
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Collaborate closely with development teams and platform-aligned Product Teams to ensure requirements are technically feasible and accurately incorporated into product backlogs.
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Maintain rigorous requirements documentation and matrices that support test planning, user acceptance testing (UAT), and user training frameworks.
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Support modern software delivery models within the Software Yard to enable reliable, secure, and rapid deployment of mission-critical software.
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Ensure all documented requirements and product baselines comply with federal software standards and government compliance regulations.
Qualifications:
High School with 9+ years (or commensurate experience)
Required Skills & Experience
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Proven experience facilitating user discovery sessions and translating complex operational workflows into structured functional requirements.
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Comprehensive operational understanding of software testing lifecycles, traceability matrices, and defining clear, testable criteria for developers.
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Strong experience collaborating with Product Owners, end users, and engineering teams to refine, manage, and prioritize product backlogs.
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Proficiency using modern Agile tools (such as Jira, Azure DevOps, or ServiceNow) to document, track, and manage requirements throughout the software development lifecycle.
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Strong foundational understanding of diverse IT domains, user-centric design principles, software quality gating, and release planning.
Clearance Required: Active Secret Clearance
Preferred Skills & Experience
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Experience supporting U.S. Coast Guard, Software Yard, or Department of Homeland Security (DHS) programs.
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Familiarity with USCG mission software systems, maritime operational contexts, or PEO C5I environments.
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Relevant professional certifications preferred (e.g., Certified Software Quality Analyst (CSQA), ISTQB Certified Tester, or Agile/Scrum certifications like PMI-PBA or PSPO).
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Experience transitioning programs from legacy workflows to modern DevOps/DevSecOps software delivery models.
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Understanding of automated testing frameworks and how requirements feed into behavioral-driven or test-driven development processes.
Posted Salary Range: USD $112,000.00 - USD $142,000.00 /Yr.
