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Defense Innovation Jobs in Ohio (NOW HIRING)

Principal Mechanical Engineer

Dayton, OH · On-site

$91K - $162K/yr

Our Laser Systems Integration facility focuses on building high energy lasers for the defense market, supporting critical national security initiatives and defense innovation. At Attalon, we're ...

Sr. Principal Laser Engineer

Dayton, OH · On-site

$102K - $182K/yr

Our Laser Systems Integration facility focuses on building high energy lasers for the defense market, supporting critical national security initiatives and defense innovation. At Attalon, we're ...

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Defense Innovation information

What are some typical challenges faced by professionals working in Defense Innovation roles?

Professionals in Defense Innovation often navigate the complex intersection of military needs, emerging technologies, and regulatory requirements. One common challenge is balancing the rapid pace of technological change with lengthy procurement and approval processes. Additionally, collaboration across multidisciplinary teams—including engineers, military personnel, and government stakeholders—requires strong communication and adaptability. Navigating security protocols and maintaining confidentiality while fostering innovation can also be demanding, making flexibility and creative problem-solving essential for success.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive in Defense Innovation, and why are they important?

To thrive in Defense Innovation, you need expertise in systems engineering, technology development, and analytical problem-solving, often supported by a background in STEM fields and experience with defense protocols. Familiarity with project management tools, rapid prototyping platforms, and relevant security clearances is typically required. Strong collaboration, adaptability, and strategic thinking are critical soft skills to excel in this evolving landscape. These competencies are essential for driving technological advancements and delivering effective solutions to complex defense challenges.

What is Defense Innovation?

Defense innovation refers to the development and application of new technologies, strategies, and processes within the defense sector to enhance national security and military effectiveness. It involves adapting cutting-edge advancements—such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and autonomous systems—to address evolving threats and challenges. Defense innovation is crucial for maintaining a technological edge, improving operational capabilities, and ensuring that military organizations can effectively respond to current and future security needs.

What is the difference between Defense Innovation vs Defense Analyst?

AspectDefense Innovation

AspectDefense Innovation

Defense Innovation focuses on developing new technologies and strategies to enhance national security, often involving research, prototyping, and collaboration with tech firms. Defense Analysts evaluate existing defense programs, analyze military data, and provide strategic insights. While both roles support defense objectives, Defense Innovation emphasizes creating future solutions, whereas Defense Analysts focus on assessing current systems. Candidates often need similar security clearances and technical backgrounds, but their daily tasks differ significantly.

What are popular job titles related to Defense Innovation jobs in Ohio? For Defense Innovation jobs in Ohio, the most frequently searched job titles are:
What job categories do people searching Defense Innovation jobs in Ohio look for? The top searched job categories for Defense Innovation jobs in Ohio are:
Infographic showing various Defense Innovation job openings in Ohio as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 80% Full Time, and 20% Contract. Highlights an 100% In-person job distribution.

Senior Software Test Engineer

Frontier Technology Inc.

Dayton, OH • On-site

$107K - $139K/yr

Full-time

Re-posted 17 days ago


Job description

We are a cutting-edge Defense Innovation Company seeking a Senior QA Engineer to join our engineering organization and raise the bar for quality across our web application portfolio. This is not a manual testing role — it is a hands-on, heavy coding position for an engineer who treats test automation as a software discipline. You will architect, build, and maintain automation frameworks with the same rigor applied to production code, with Playwright at the center of your toolkit.

You'll operate with the autonomy and pace of a startup engineer, backed by the scale and resources of an enterprise. The ideal candidate has thrived on small, fast-moving teams and knows how to deliver quality at speed without heavyweight process.

This role is ideally based near one of FTI's office locations in Chesapeake, VA, Beavercreek, OH, Colorado Springs, CO, or Northern Virginia. Candidates in these markets will receive primary consideration. Exceptional remote candidates with highly relevant experience may also be considered.


  • Design, develop, and maintain robust end-to-end automation suites for complex web application workflows using Playwright with TypeScript/JavaScript
  • Leverage frontier LLM models to increase development velocity and code quality
  • Architect scalable, maintainable test frameworks and shared libraries adopted across multiple engineering teams
  • Integrate automated testing into CI/CD pipelines to enable fast, confident, continuous delivery
  • Write production-quality code daily — page objects, fixtures, custom utilities, API test harnesses, and tooling
  • Partner with developers, product managers, and DevOps to shift quality left and embed testability into design and architecture decisions
  • Triage, root-cause, and drive resolution of defects and flaky tests; champion test reliability and meaningful coverage metrics
  • Mentor engineers on automation best practices and code review test code with a critical eye
  • Evaluate and introduce tools and practices that improve quality engineering velocity

Required Qualifications

  • Must be a U.S. Citizen AND possess an active U.S. Dept. of Defense Secret security clearance with TS/SCI eligibility.
  • Bachelor's degree in a STEM field (required)
  • 5+ years of software quality engineering or software development experience
  • Extensive, demonstrable experience using Playwright to automate workflows in modern web applications
  • Strong professional experience writing JavaScript/TypeScript — you will be evaluated as a coder
  • Experience working in startups or small, fast-moving teams where you owned outcomes end-to-end
  • Solid understanding of CI/CD practices and integrating automated tests into build pipelines (e.g., GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins, ADO)
  • Deep knowledge of testing strategy: E2E, API, integration, and component testing trade-offs
  • Strong debugging skills across the stack — browser internals, network traffic, async behavior, race conditions
  • Excellent communication skills and the ability to influence quality practices across teams

Preferred Qualifications

  • BS in Computer Science or a closely related field (greatly preferred)
  • MS in Computer Science (preferred)
  • Experience with cloud platforms — GCP, AWS, or Azure
  • Experience with API testing, contract testing, or performance/load testing
  • Familiarity with containerization (Docker, Kubernetes) and infrastructure-as-code
  • Prior experience with scaling test automation in a large engineering organization

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