Deputy Group Lead, Product Test & Evaluation

Scientific Systems Company Inc. (SSCI) is seeking an experienced Product Test & Evaluation Deputy Group Lead to build and lead a high-performance test organization for SSCI's autonomy software and integrated mission-system products. As our software is deployed across multiple OEM unmanned aircraft platforms, this role will own the verification evidence that proves our products are reliable, repeatable, and mission-ready at scale.

You will own test strategy, test architecture, and test execution across the full product lifecycle (unit and integration through software-in-the-loop (SIL), hardware-in-the-loop (HIL), sensor integration, performance and regression campaigns, ground test, and flight test. You will also own the test infrastructure that makes this possible: simulation environments, test benches, automated test frameworks, CI/CD test pipelines, and multi-platform test labs. Secondarily, you will ensure test practices and verification records satisfy SSCI's ISO-aligned Quality Management System, partnering with the QA function on audits, corrective actions, and process governance.

This Deputy Group leader establishes SSCI's long-term product test strategy and owns execution across the Solutions Division. As SSCI expands its licensed software model, this role is central to demonstrating that our products meet the highest operational and airworthiness-relevant standards.

 Test Leadership and Strategy

• Establish and execute SSCI's enterprise test strategy for autonomy and mission-system products, spanning software, system, and platform-integration levels.
• Build, mentor, and manage a multidisciplinary test organization (test engineering, test automation, build and release, field test and field service engineers).
• Define test coverage models, entry/exit criteria, and release qualification gates; own the go/no-go verification recommendation for product releases.
• Develop test metrics and dashboards — coverage, defect escape rate, automation yield, test cycle time, flight-test readiness — and drive continuous improvement against them.
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a United States DoD Security Clearance.

Test Engineering and Execution

• Own planning and execution of comprehensive verification and validation campaigns: functional, regression, performance, stress and edge-case, HIL, sensor integration, ground test, and flight test.
• Translate system and customer requirements into verifiable test requirements, test procedures, and traceable verification evidence.
• Drive test automation and continuous testing into CI/CD pipelines to shorten feedback loops and scale coverage across platform variants.
• Own readiness, fidelity, and configuration control of simulation environments, test equipment, instrumentation, and multi-platform test infrastructure.
• Own test data management and analysis, including flight and bench data reduction, anomaly investigation, and root-cause support to engineering.

Quality Assurance and Compliance (Secondary)

• Ensure test artifacts, verification records, and release documentation satisfy SSCI's ISO-aligned QMS requirements.
• Support QA-led audits, nonconformance handling, corrective and preventive actions, and management reviews as the test organization's representative.
• Ensure acceptance criteria and design verification requirements are documented and enforced in coordination with systems engineering and QA.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with engineering, program management, field operations, and OEM partners to align test scope, schedules, and acceptance expectations across diverse aircraft systems.
• Ensure field test results, customer-reported issues, and OEM integration findings feed back into test coverage, regression suites, and product improvement.

Continuous Improvement

• Identify technical unknowns, test gaps, and operational risks, and prioritize test investment accordingly.
• Drive standardization, reuse, scalability, and automation across all test workflows and platform variants.

 Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and 7+ years of experience in test engineering, systems verification and validation, or integration and test of complex software/hardware systems.
• Experience leading and managing technical test or integration teams.
• Demonstrated experience building or scaling test programs and test automation for complex SW/HW systems such as autonomy, aerospace, robotics, or other mission-critical platforms.
• Hands-on experience with structured test methodologies, requirements-based verification, test planning, and multi-platform compatibility testing.
• Working familiarity with ISO 9001 processes and QMS-related verification documentation.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience testing flight-critical or aviation autonomy systems, including ground and flight test campaigns.
• Experience supporting government or defense programs.
• Depth in CI/CD, DevSecOps, test automation frameworks, simulation tools, and hardware-in-the-loop environments.
• Experience with test data analysis, instrumentation, and telemetry-based anomaly investigation.
• Active or prior DoD security clearance.
• Excellent communication and organizational leadership skills.