DECAL - CAPS Senior QA Analyst

Description:

Under broad supervision, will provide adequate testing feedback to ensure enhancements and changes are operating effectively within the testing environment for the Dept. Of Early Care & Learning (DECAL).

Agency: Dept. Of Early Care and Learning (DECAL)

Local Candidates only
Work
Schedule: 8 to 5 Mon thru Fri;Remote but at minimum once a
quarter, but more frequently as needed based on project needs.

The Child and Protective Care Services division (CAPS) Senior UAT & Business Analyst reports to the CAPS Sr. Manager of Technical Solutions. Under broad supervision, this role is responsible for leading User Acceptance Testing (UAT), test strategy development, business analysis activities, and quality assurance coordination across CAPS systems and related enterprise applications.
This position serves as a senior-level quality and business analysis resource responsible for ensuring systems, data, integrations, reporting solutions, and business processes meet business requirements, Federal/State policy standards, and operational expectations. This role bridges the gap between business stakeholders, SMEs, Business System Owners (BSOs), developers, vendors, and testing teams to ensure successful solution delivery and release readiness.
The ideal candidate is a highly skilled and versatile professional with strong expertise in manual and automated testing, test strategy development, regression suite optimization, defect management, business process analysis, and requirements management. This role requires the ability to operate both strategically and hands-on, shifting between UAT leadership responsibilities and Business Analyst functions based on project and operational needs.


Job Responsibilities
Participate in Joint Application Requirements (JAR) and Joint Application Design (JAD) sessions for assigned Change Requests (CRs) and Maintenance & Operations (M&O) initiatives to support requirements gathering, solution validation, and testing readiness.
Collaborate with business stakeholders, Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), Business System Owners (BSOs), vendors, technical teams, and project managers to analyze, document, refine, and validate business and functional requirements.
Serve as an individual contributor performing both Business Analyst and User Acceptance Testing (UAT) responsibilities based on project, operational, and organizational needs.
Develop and maintain comprehensive UAT strategies, test plans, test scenarios, and testing approaches aligned with business objectives, operational priorities, regulatory requirements, and project timelines.
Review business requirements, functional specifications, system designs, interface documentation, and business workflows to ensure complete and risk-based test coverage.
Create, execute, and maintain manual and automated test scripts for functional, integration, regression, end-to-end, data validation, and user acceptance testing activities.
Lead and coordinate UAT activities across assigned projects, including test execution, issue tracking, test evidence documentation, business validation, and release readiness support.
Partner with vendors responsible for Unit Testing and System Integration Testing (SIT) to improve testing alignment, strengthen overall quality coverage, and reduce duplicate testing efforts between SIT and UAT processes.
Collaborate with project managers, testing teams, business users, and external partners to manage testing timelines, dependencies, risks, deliverables, and implementation of readiness activities.
Facilitate requirements of walkthroughs, knowledge-sharing sessions, and testing reviews to ensure a clear understanding of business expectations, system functionality, and testing objectives.
Manage the full defect lifecycle including defect identification, logging, triage, prioritization, escalation, retesting, resolution validation, and status reporting utilizing approved enterprise testing and defect management tools.
Track, analyze, and communicate testing metrics, execution progress, defect trends, test coverage, quality risks, and UAT results to leadership, stakeholders, and project teams.
Analyze, review, refine, and enhance existing regression test suites to improve testing efficiency, business-process validation, and overall regression coverage across CAPS systems.
Lead test automation initiatives by developing automation strategies, identifying automation opportunities, recommending appropriate frameworks and tools, and implementing automated regression testing solutions to reduce manual testing effort and improve quality outcomes.
Support post-implementation validation, production issue analysis, continuous process improvement initiatives, QA/UAT best practices, and additional CAPS Program Administration activities as assigned.

Qualifications
Required
Bachelor s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Business, Engineering, Mathematics, or related field;or equivalent combination of education and experience.
Minimum of five (5) years of experience in Quality Assurance (QA), User Acceptance Testing (UAT), and/or Business Analysis roles supporting enterprise systems.
Minimum of three (3) years of experience in test automation, including automation strategy development and transitioning manual testing processes into automated solutions.
Strong experience developing test strategies, test cases, test scripts, and executing functional, regression, integration, end-to-end, and UAT testing.
Demonstrated experience analyzing business and functional requirements, developing use cases, and translating business needs into testable scenarios.
Experience in performing data quality validation, data reconciliation, and testing across enterprise applications, interfaces, and reporting solutions.
Hands-on experience with QA and test management tools such as Jira, Azure DevOps, Smartsheet, or similar platforms.
Hands-on experience with automation tools such as Selenium, Playwright, Cypress, TestComplete, Power Automate, UFT, or similar technologies.
Experience working with Microsoft reporting and analytics tools including Power BI and/or Microsoft Fabric.
Proven ability to work independently as a senior-level individual contributor while effectively collaborating with business users, internal teams, external partners, and vendors in a cross-functional environment.
Preferred
Experience working with data systems and automated business processes.
Experience creating or using systems for automated testing.
Experience organizing and analyzing data to inform decision making.
Knowledge of Georgia Gateway Integrated Eligibility System.
Knowledge of system development and configuration.
Advanced skills in Excel and other Microsoft Office applications.
Experience with Agile/Scrum methodologies
Familiarity with data warehousing, ETL processes, or data pipelines


Technical Competencies
Knowledge of eligibility requirements and systems.
Understanding of automation processes and business needs.
Deep understanding of test types such as black box, regression, and negative testing.
Experience with testing frameworks and tools (Selenium, Power Automate, jUnit, Azure Test Plans).
Ability to deliver high-quality customer service and maintain positive work relationships.
Ability to organize and evaluate data to drive decision making.
Ability to collaborate with diverse communities and demonstrate cultural sensitivity.
Understanding of eligibility systems and requirements.
Experience with .NET applications, Angular front-ends, and relational databases.
Intermediate to advanced skills in Microsoft Word, Excel, and SharePoint.
Ability to develop user stories and acceptance criteria.
Effective communication, collaboration, and customer service skills.
Ability to collaborate with diverse communities and maintain positive work relationships.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
Excellent communication and stakeholder management
Ability to translate business requirements into technical test artifacts.
Attention to detail and commitment to quality.
Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.


Physical Requirements


Office-based work with intermittent sitting, standing, and walking.
Ability to speak clearly and hear at a normal conversational level.
Visual acuity for data analysis and computer work.
Full range of hand and finger motion for data entry.