RQ11321 - Systems Testing/QA Specialist - Senior

Description:

• To respond to the priorities of the Government of Ontario through the passage of the Bill 5, Protect Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy Act 2025, the resource may be partially assigned to Bill 5 related projects or initiatives on an as needed basis.
  
• A senior GIS infrastructure and application solutions tester is needed to evaluate upgraded GIS infrastructure and newly upgraded GIS applications.
  
• The Land and Resources I&IT Cluster (LRC), in partnership with the Ministries of Natural Resources, Energy and Mines; Environment, Conservation, and Parks; Agriculture, Food, and Agribusiness; and Indigenous Affairs and First Nations Economic Reconciliation is undertaking a multi-year effort to upgrade up to 18 business-critical geospatial applications hosted on the GIS Delivery Platform (GDP).
  
• This initiative is driven by the need to upgrade Geocortex-based applications, which rely on deprecated middleware and infrastructure, to the current Geocortex vendor release version, the fully supported, next-generation VertiGIS platform. The project will deliver like-for-like upgrades of up to 18 existing Geocortex applications, preserving current functionality while upgrading the underlying technology and application codebase. This work will ensure continued alignment with GO-ITS standards and service delivery requirements, maintain vendor support, and mitigate risks associated with unsupported systems, including security vulnerabilities, system instability, performance degradation, and potential reputational impacts.
  
• The upgraded VertiGIS applications will provide improved integration with modern GIS capabilities, including enterprise data, geoprocessing services, and portal technologies. This enhanced compatibility will enable future modernization opportunities and improved data management efficiencies. In addition, the upgrades will address existing functionality and performance issues, support Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) compliance, and deliver an overall improved user experience.
  
• All Geospatial Ontario IT Program projects are composed of both IT Source Fee-For-Service and Full Time Employee resources.
  
• Projects will maintain independent, as well as, Program, and Corporate level governance.
  

Two onsite work locations are recommended; however, the successful candidate may work out of a locally available Ontario Public Service office:

1. 300 WATER STREET, NORTH TOWER, FLOOR 4, PETERBOROUGH, ONTARIO
   
2. 40 ST CLAIR AVENUE WEST, FLOOR 11, TORONTO, ONTARIO
   

The successful candidate is expected to work without break in service for the duration of the contract. 

Responsibilities:

• Provides advice on the testing strategy, test plans, the selection of testing tools, and the identification of resources required for testing.
  
• Plans and organizes testing efforts for large systems in Graphical User Interface (GUI) and non-Graphical User Interface (GUI) environments, including the execution of systems integration tests, specialized tests, and user acceptance testing (e.g., stress tests).
  
• Responsible for the development of test plans, test scripts, and test cases and executing these against the various components.
  
• Works with the testing lead and IT lead of each project as well as the project team members in the analysis, design, development, implementation, and ongoing support of the required systems.
  

General Skills:

• Experience in planning, organizing, and implementing testing efforts at the specified experience level.
  
• Knowledge of structured methodologies for the development, design, implementation, and maintenance of applications.
  
• Knowledge and experience in the use of Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE) tools and data query tools to aid in the development of test cases.
  
• Knowledge and experience in the use of automated test tools and version control systems on one or more platforms.
  
• Experience executing functional tests, non-functional tests, and systems level integration tests.
  
• Experience supporting user acceptance testing and participating in UAT activities.
  
• Experience with quality assurance principles, practices, tools, and structured methodologies.
  
• Experience creating testing strategy documentation, test plans, test cases, and test data for various types and phases of testing, including technical and business functional validation.
  
• Experience in quality assurance and testing, including unit testing, integration testing, load testing, performance testing, etc.
  
• Knowledge and experience in all phases of the Systems Development Life Cycle.
  
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills; organizational, creativity, and perseverance skills; verbal and written communication skills; and interpersonal skills.
  
• A team player with a track record for meeting deadlines.
  
• Knowledge of one or more automated testing tools.
  

Desirable Skills:

• Knowledge and experience in at least one programming language.
  
• Experience in the use of information retrieval packages.
  
• Knowledge and understanding of  GIS Infrastructure and solution testing methods in an object-oriented environment.
  
• Knowledge and understanding of Information Management principles, concepts, policies, and practices.
  
• Knowledge and understanding of Accessibility for Ontarians with Disability Act (AODA) and related regulations and standards.
  
• Experience planning and organizing testing efforts for both large and small systems.
  
• Experience coding automated test scripts to produce sets of automated test cases.
  
• Experience testing Commercial Off-the-Shelf Applications (COTS).
  

Requirements

Experience and Skill Set Requirements:

Must Haves:

• Experience with GIS (Esri) based projects and applications e.g, ArcMap, ArcPro SDK, File Geodatabases, ArcObjects, ArcGIS Portal and/or ArcGIS Online
  
• Experience with IT Infrastructure modernization and maintenance-focused projects
  
• Experience with VBA, .Net, C++, C#, SDKs
  

Skill Set Requirements:

Technical Experience:

• Experience with GIS (Esri) based projects and applications e.g, ArcMap, ArcPro SDK, File Geodatabases, ArcObjects, ArcGIS Portal and/or ArcGIS Online
  
• Experience with IT Infrastructure modernization and maintenance focused projects
  
• Experience with VBA, .Net, C++, C#, SDKs
  

Communication Experience:

• Experience communicating technical concepts to lay audiences
  
• Experience negotiating / resolving project direction to achieve consensus
  
• Experience collaborating with stakeholders, Business Analysts and project management
  

IT Public Sector Experience:

• Experience with Public Sector multi-disciplinary teams, GO-ITS standards, and gating processes