General Information 

• Job Code: SHR-BI-04T
• Location: Client/NIH Main Campus
• Employee Type: Exempt, Full-Time Regular   (Ask our recruiters about flexible work arrangements) 
• Telework: Ad-hoc only
• Clearance: Public Trust
• Number of Openings: 1
• Salary Range: $108,321-112,000 per year (how we pay and promote) 

Are you passionate about solving technical challenges and driving quality. Do you thrive in collaborative, cross-functional teams where your expertise in quality assurance helps uphold high development standards and deliver dependable solutions for mission driven work?

Ripple Effect is seeking an experienced QA Specialist to support mission-critical applications and systems that advance our client’s objectives. The QA Specialist will play a key role in ensuring that applications are reliable, secure, and compliant with industry best practices by leading testing efforts across platforms and environments and partnering closely with IT system administrators and engineering teams. Serving as a senior contributor within the QA function, this role is responsible for executing and reviewing complex quality assurance activities, supporting application planning, and developing clear instructions and documentation for end users. Through a strong focus on quality, collaboration, and continuous improvement, this position helps ensure high standards for software development while supporting data-driven decision-making and effective client engagement.

If this position sounds like a place where your skills and experience can make an impact, there’s a place for you here at Ripple Effect. We offer a collaborative and engaging work environment, along with flexible work

Responsibilities

Quality Assurance & Technical Execution: Partner with IT Systems Administrators to ensure applications are thoroughly tested, perform reliably across environments and platforms, and align with software development and web development best practices.

Data Analysis& Insights: Applies analytical methods to interpret technical and operational data, contributing to the development of meaningful, data-driven insights while supporting the creation of reports and presentations by ensuring analytical accuracy, clarity of findings, and alignment with project objectives, enabling stakeholders and clients to make informed decisions.

Planning, Scheduling, and Financial Management: Supports project planning by setting objectives, executing assigned tasks independently, and monitoring progress against timelines. This position tracks resource utilization, documents deliverable status, and provides realistic estimates for task completion to support efficient, cost-effective execution of work while helping teams stay on schedule.

Continuous Improvement & Problem Solving: Proactively identifies workflow, integration, and quality challenges and recommends improvements to streamline processes, reduce redundancies, and enhance overall efficiency. You will support continuous improvement efforts by contributing insights that strengthen delivery models and improve the quality and consistency of outcomes.

Requirements

Minimum Education and Experience 

• Bachelor's degree in relevant field
• 10 years of relevant professional experience

Basic Requirements 

• Demonstrated experience testing applications across multiple environments and platforms (e.g. browsers, operating systems, staging vs. production)
• Working knowledge of software development lifecycle (SDLC) best practices and quality assurance methodologies
• Experience collaborating with IT system administrators, developers, or infrastructure teams to support application reliability and performance.
• Intermediate experience with Microsoft Office productivity software and collaboration tools such as Microsoft Teams and SharePoint. 
• Excellent problem-solving, communication, and documentation skills.
• Must be able and willing to work onsite multiple days per week in Bethesda, MD.

To be successful at Ripple Effect, you must be able to pay attention to details, clearly communicate, work independently, and have an eagerness to learn. Learn more about what makes Ripple so great. Check out our capabilities.  

Skills That Set You Apart 

• Proficiency with structured QA approaches such as risk-based testing, regression testing and exploratory testing to improve coverage and efficiency
• Experience introducing or improving test automation, QA tools, or repeatable testing processes that increase consistency and reduce manual effort.
• Strong understanding of Section 508 compliance and accessibility standards. 
• Previous experience with NIH, especially NLM
• Additional Years of Experience and/or advanced degree
• Intermediate experience with AI tools, including their limitations and risks, and how they can be applied to support database management tasks. 

Benefits

Ripple Effect rewards our employees for their contributions to our mission in many ways, from competitive pay and exceptional benefits to a range of work/life programs based on your employment classification and personalized preferences. 

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Ripple Effect is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, political affiliation, or Veteran status. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation during the hiring process, please let us know by contacting our HR department at HR@rippleeffect.com or your recruiter. Eligibility for employment will be verified using E-verify.