Systems Testing / QA Specialist – Intermediate

Systems Testing / QA Specialist – Intermediate

Client: Government Services Integration Cluster – Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery and Procurement, Ontario

Location: Toronto, Ontario

Work Arrangement: 100% Onsite – 5 days per week

Contract: September 21, 2026 – March 31, 2027

Extension: Up to one additional term

Openings: 1

Security Clearance: No clearance required

Position Overview

Our client is seeking an experienced Systems Testing / QA Specialist – Intermediate to support enterprise-level application testing initiatives within the Government Services Integration Cluster.

The successful candidate will be responsible for planning, designing, executing, documenting, and reporting on functional and non-functional testing activities. The role will work closely with testing leads, IT leads, developers, business analysts, project managers, and other project team members throughout the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC).

The ideal candidate will have strong hands-on experience in manual and automated testing, AODA compliance testing, API testing, performance testing, database validation, defect management, and test documentation, with experience working in Agile, Scrum, and Waterfall environments.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide advice and support on testing strategies, test plans, testing tools, test approaches, and resources required for testing.
  
• Plan, organize, and execute testing activities for large and complex enterprise systems across GUI and non-GUI environments.
  
• Develop and maintain test strategies, test plans, test cases, test scripts, test data, test execution reports, and test results.
  
• Execute functional, integration, system, regression, acceptance, and non-functional testing.
  
• Support and participate in User Acceptance Testing (UAT) activities.
  
• Validate that applications and systems perform as expected under various conditions.
  
• Perform end-to-end testing to validate functional and non-functional requirements.
  
• Identify, document, prioritize, and track defects using tools such as JIRA, Azure DevOps, ALM, Bugzilla, TestRail, or Zephyr.
  
• Collaborate closely with developers and technical teams to reproduce, investigate, troubleshoot, and resolve defects.
  
• Develop and maintain automated test scripts using tools/frameworks such as Selenium, OpenText UFT/Micro Focus, TestComplete, Cypress, or Postman.
  
• Perform API testing using tools such as Postman or equivalent technologies.
  
• Integrate automated testing activities with CI/CD pipelines.
  
• Conduct performance, stress, load, and scalability testing using tools such as JMeter, LoadRunner, or similar.
  
• Analyze performance results and assist in identifying performance bottlenecks and scalability issues.
  
• Perform backend and database testing using SQL and/or Oracle.
  
• Write queries to validate data, perform backend testing, and verify data integrity, consistency, and accuracy.
  
• Support data migration and transformation testing where required.
  
• Develop and manage robust test data strategies, including realistic test data generation, data privacy considerations, and test environment management.
  
• Perform basic security testing and collaborate with security specialists on more advanced security and penetration testing activities.
  
• Ensure testing activities address Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) requirements and applicable accessibility standards.
  
• Work with business analysts, developers, project managers, and other stakeholders to clarify requirements and identify quality risks.
  
• Participate in Agile/Scrum ceremonies, including sprint planning, daily stand-ups, reviews, and retrospectives.
  
• Maintain comprehensive documentation covering test coverage, execution results, defects, quality metrics, and testing outcomes.
  
• Provide testing input into user manuals, release documentation, and release notes.
  
• Ensure testing activities follow applicable QA standards, structured methodologies, regulatory requirements, and OPS quality assurance practices.
  

Requirements

Mandatory Qualifications & Experience

Candidates must demonstrate the following:

Core QA & Testing Experience

• 2+ years of experience in software testing within enterprise-level IT environments.
  
• Hands-on experience with both manual testing and automated testing tools/frameworks.
  
• Strong understanding and practical experience with Agile, Scrum, and Waterfall testing methodologies.
  
• Extensive experience with AODA testing and compliance.
  
• Experience creating and maintaining:
  
• Test strategies
  
• Test plans
  
• Test cases
  
• Test scripts
  
• Test data
  
• Test execution reports
  
• Test results
  
• Proven experience performing end-to-end testing of complex systems and ensuring coverage of functional and non-functional requirements.
  
• Experience executing:
  
• Functional testing
  
• Integration testing
  
• System testing
  
• Regression testing
  
• Acceptance/UAT testing
  
• Non-functional testing
  
• Load testing
  
• Performance testing
  
• Strong understanding of QA principles, practices, tools, structured methodologies, and quality standards.
  
• Knowledge of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) and Software Testing Life Cycle.
  
• Experience working across all or multiple phases of the Systems Development Life Cycle.
  

Test Automation & API Testing

• Hands-on experience with test automation tools such as Selenium or Postman.
  
• Experience developing and executing automated test scripts.
  
• Knowledge of other automation tools such as OpenText UFT/Micro Focus, TestComplete, Cypress, or equivalent is an asset.
  
• Experience with API testing, preferably using Postman or comparable tools.
  
• Understanding of scripting languages such as Python, JavaScript, or Bash for test automation and/or test data setup.
  
• Experience integrating automated tests into CI/CD pipelines.
  

Performance Testing

• Hands-on experience with performance testing tools such as:
  
• JMeter
  
• LoadRunner
  
• Or similar performance testing technologies.
  
• Experience developing and executing performance, stress, and load test scripts.
  
• Ability to analyze performance results, identify bottlenecks, and assess system scalability.
  

Defect & Test Management

• Experience using defect/test management tools such as:
  
• JIRA
  
• Azure DevOps
  
• ALM
  
• Bugzilla
  
• TestRail
  
• Zephyr
  
• Or similar tools.
  
• Demonstrated ability to document, track, prioritize, and manage software defects through resolution.
  

Database & Backend Testing

• Strong understanding of relational databases, particularly SQL and Oracle.
  
• Demonstrated ability to write SQL queries for backend validation and data testing.
  
• Experience validating data integrity, consistency, and accuracy across systems and databases.
  
• Experience with data migration and transformation testing.
  
• Experience developing and managing test data strategies and test environments, including data privacy considerations.
  

Cloud & DevOps

• Knowledge of cloud technologies such as Microsoft Azure and/or AWS.
  
• Knowledge of CI/CD pipelines and integration/deployment tools.
  
• Experience or familiarity with Jenkins, Git, GitLab, or comparable tools.
  
• Knowledge and experience with version control systems.
  

Accessibility & Security

• Extensive experience with AODA testing and compliance is mandatory.
  
• Knowledge and understanding of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) and related regulations and standards.
  
• Experience conducting basic security testing.
  
• Ability to collaborate with security specialists for deeper security and penetration testing activities.
  

General Skills

• Strong analytical, problem-solving, troubleshooting, and decision-making skills.
  
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
  
• Strong interpersonal and collaboration skills.
  
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with functional and technical teams.
  
• Ability to work as part of a large project team and collaborate with individual team members and stakeholders.
  
• Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, creativity, perseverance, and a quality-focused mindset.
  
• Ability to work under pressure and meet aggressive timelines and deadlines.
  
• Adaptable to changing requirements and priorities.
  
• Proven ability to produce clear, comprehensive, and effective test cases.
  
• Strong ability to interpret requirements and translate them into appropriate testing scenarios.
  
• A team player with a demonstrated track record of meeting project commitments.
  

Additional / Desirable Qualifications

The following experience will be considered an asset:

• Knowledge of at least one programming language.
  
• Experience with information retrieval packages.
  
• Knowledge of testing methods within an object-oriented environment.
  
• Understanding of Information Management principles, concepts, policies, and practices.
  
• Experience planning and organizing testing efforts for both large and small systems.
  
• Experience coding automated test scripts to create automated test case suites.
  
• Experience testing Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) applications.
  
• Knowledge of CASE tools and data query tools used to support test case development.
  
• Experience working with structured application development, implementation, and maintenance methodologies.
  

Public Sector Experience

• Experience working within a public-sector, government, or Ontario Public Service (OPS) environment is highly desirable.
  
• Knowledge of OPS quality assurance standards and practices is preferred.
  

Work Environment

• 100% onsite in Toronto, Ontario – 5 days per week.
  
• Candidates must be comfortable working in an enterprise/public-sector environment and collaborating with large multidisciplinary project teams.
  
• No security clearance is required for this assignment.
  

Ideal Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate is an Intermediate QA/Test Specialist with strong enterprise testing experience who can independently develop test documentation, execute comprehensive manual and automated testing, manage defects, perform database/API validation, and contribute to performance and accessibility testing.

Candidates with demonstrable experience in AODA compliance, Selenium/Postman, JMeter/LoadRunner, JIRA/Azure DevOps, SQL/Oracle, Azure/AWS, CI/CD, and Agile/Scrum environments will be strongly aligned with this opportunity.

Candidate Submission Must Clearly Demonstrate

Mandatory – do not submit candidates who cannot demonstrate:

1. 2+ years enterprise-level software testing experience
   
2. Manual + automated testing experience
   
3. Agile, Scrum + Waterfall experience
   
4. Extensive AODA testing/compliance experience
   
5. Test strategies, test plans, test cases, test scripts and test reports
   
6. Selenium or Postman experience
   
7. JMeter, LoadRunner or equivalent performance testing experience
   
8. JIRA, Azure DevOps or equivalent defect tracking experience
   
9. Functional, integration, system, regression and UAT testing
   
10. SQL/Oracle database testing and backend validation
    
11. Azure/AWS cloud knowledge
    
12. CI/CD, Jenkins/Git/GitLab or equivalent
    
13. Performance, stress and load testing
    
14. Test data management and data validation
    
15. Basic security testing knowledge
    
16. Strong communication and analytical/problem-solving skills
    
17. Ability to work 5 days onsite in Toronto
    
18. Knowledge of OPS QA standards/practices is preferred