Software Quality Assurance (SQA) Engineer

OSS is a Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business headquartered in Huntsville, AL.  We are focused on “Making a Difference” in the lives of our Department of Defense Customers, Communities and Employees.  Our greatest strength is our people.  We expect competence and character and look for uniquely skilled and passionate individuals bound by a collective vision to bring their best to our mission.  OSS believes in taking great care of our employees, evidenced by our exemplary benefits package: OSS covers 75% of the monthly insurance cost towards employee Health Insurance, we offer multiple Principal product options, and we have a fantastic 401k plan match with eligibility starting on first payroll.  If you are interested in an opportunity to join a great mission, supporting awesome customers with a growing company, please reach out to us to learn more! 

Software Quality Assurance (SQA) Engineer

Position Summary

The Software Quality Assurance (SQA) Engineer is responsible for ensuring that software development activities, processes, and deliverables comply with established quality standards, contractual requirements, and organizational policies within a regulated development environment.

This role emphasizes process assurance, compliance verification, and quality oversight across the software development lifecycle rather than direct product testing. The SQA Engineer evaluates development activities against approved plans, standards, and procedures to ensure adherence to quality requirements commonly associated with defense, aerospace, and other highly regulated systems development programs.

The SQA Engineer collaborates with engineering teams, program management, and quality leadership to ensure that software products are developed in accordance with defined processes, contractual requirements, and applicable standards.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Software Quality Assurance Oversight

• Monitor software development activities to ensure compliance with approved software development plans, quality management procedures, and program standards.
• Conduct process compliance reviews and audits of software development activities throughout the lifecycle.
• Verify that required software engineering artifacts are produced, reviewed, and approved in accordance with established procedures.
• Ensure adherence to program requirements, including traceability, configuration management, and documentation standards.
• Provide independent oversight of software development processes to ensure compliance with organizational and contractual quality requirements.

Process Assurance and Compliance

• Evaluate project execution against applicable software development standards, organizational quality policies, and contractual requirements.
• Verify compliance with defined processes during requirements management, design, implementation, integration, verification, and release activities.
• Participate in process audits, peer reviews, and milestone reviews to assess compliance with established development and quality processes.
• Identify process deviations or nonconformances and work with project teams to ensure appropriate corrective actions are implemented.

Documentation and Quality Records

• Ensure required software lifecycle documentation is produced and maintained in accordance with contractual and organizational requirements.
• Maintain records of quality assurance activities, audit results, and corrective actions.
• Review technical documentation to ensure compliance with required documentation standards and program data deliverables.
• Support preparation and review of contract data deliverables (CDRLs) related to software quality.

Risk Management and Continuous Improvement

• Identify quality risks associated with development activities and recommend mitigation strategies.
• Support root cause analysis for quality issues, process deviations, or recurring defects.
• Provide recommendations to improve software development processes, quality controls, and program execution.
• Support implementation of corrective and preventive actions to improve overall product and process quality.

Independent Quality Reporting

• Provide objective assessments of process compliance and product quality status to program leadership.
• Escalate significant quality concerns, risks, or nonconformances through appropriate quality management channels.
• Contribute to program quality metrics, status reports, and readiness assessments.

SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework) Responsibilities

Within a SAFe-based Agile Release Train (ART) environment, the SQA Engineer performs quality assurance activities focused on process compliance and quality governance.

Responsibilities include:

• Participate in Program Increment (PI) Planning to ensure quality requirements and process considerations are incorporated into program planning.
• Provide oversight to ensure Agile teams operate in accordance with approved development processes and quality standards.
• Monitor adherence to Definition of Done, configuration management practices, and traceability requirements.
• Participate in Inspect and Adapt workshops to evaluate program-level quality performance and recommend process improvements.
• Support quality assessments during system demonstrations, integration events, and release readiness reviews.
• Collaborate with Scrum Masters, Product Owners, and system engineers to ensure development activities maintain compliance with program quality objectives.
• Provide independent quality feedback to leadership regarding program execution and process adherence.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Systems Engineering, Information Systems, or a related technical discipline, or equivalent experience.
• Minimum 3–5 years of experience in software quality assurance, process assurance, or software development lifecycle oversight.
• Experience working within regulated development environments, such as defense, aerospace, or safety-critical systems.
• Familiarity with software development lifecycle processes and quality management practices.
• Experience participating in process audits, compliance reviews, or quality assessments.
• Strong analytical, documentation, and organizational skills.
• US Citizen - SECRET Clearance Required

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting programs aligned with recognized software standards such as:
• CMMI
• ISO 9001 / AS9100
• DoD software development guidance
• Experience supporting contract data deliverables (CDRLs) and technical documentation reviews.
• Familiarity with configuration management and requirements traceability tools.
• Experience working within Agile or SAFe-based development environments.
• Professional certifications such as:
• ASQ Certified Quality Engineer (CQE)
• ISTQB
• SAFe Practitioner or SAFe Agilist

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Strong understanding of software development lifecycle processes and quality assurance practices.
• Ability to evaluate development activities for process compliance and quality adherence.
• Familiarity with software engineering documentation and review processes.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills suitable for technical and program management audiences.
• Ability to maintain independent and objective quality oversight.
• Attention to detail and strong documentation discipline.

Equal Employment Opportunity
Offset Strategic Services, Inc. (OSS) is an Equal Opportunity Employer and federal contractor. We make employment decisions based on qualifications, merit, and business needs. We do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, or any other status protected by law.

Reasonable Accommodation
OSS provides reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities throughout the application and hiring process. If you need assistance, please contact us using the information on our website.

Drug‑Free Workplace
OSS maintains a drug‑free workplace in compliance with federal requirements. Candidates who receive a conditional offer may be required to complete pre‑employment drug screening and additional testing as permitted by law.