Test & Evaluation Manager
Saronic Technologies
Austin, TX, USA
Posted on Jan 21, 2026
Saronic Technologies is a leader in revolutionizing autonomy at sea, dedicated to developing state-of-the-art solutions that enhance maritime operations through autonomous and intelligent platforms.
Job Summary
As a Mission Operations Engineering – Test & Evaluation Manager, you are responsible for leading a team of Mission Operations Engineers in the planning, execution, and reporting of testing across multiple mission operations test sites. This role serves as the primary interface between mission operations, software, hardware, and autonomy teams by translating test requests into structured, executable validation plans and coordinating schedules, resources, and platforms to support timely, high-fidelity testing. You ensure software and autonomy testing is aligned with development and release cycles, and that results are accurately captured and communicated to drive follow-on action and inform operational decision-making across the organization.
Responsibilities:
- How You Support the Mission
- Manage end-to-end test scheduling across mission operations test sites of incoming test requests from hardware, software, autonomy, and growth teams
- Partner with software and autonomy teams to ensure test plans account for regressions, edge cases, and failure modes relevant to the software, autonomy, or engineering ability under test
- Align software and autonomy testing cadence with development and release cycles to ensure timely operational feedback, regression validation, and reduce iteration latency
- Translate broad or over-scoped test requests into structured, executable validation plans with clear objectives and success criteria by collaborating with hardware, software, autonomy, and growth teams and accounting for system understanding, platform capability and operational constraints
- Act as the primary escalation point during test execution for scope changes, conflicts, or anomalies to minimize downtime and maximize throughput
- Coordinate with test site managers and depot technicians to assess current platform readiness and mission capability, proactively identifying options to mitigate hardware, configuration, or logistical constraints impacting test execution
- How You Support the Team
- Develop, maintain, and refine test cases across software, autonomy, and hardware test suites to ensure unambiguous execution steps and measurable pass/fail criteria tied to each test request
- Manage a team of Mission Operations Engineers across multiple test sites and time zones to ensure test alignment and timely execution of test objectives
- Ensure test results are fully and accurately captured and reported back to their respective teams following execution to support follow-on actions and re-test coordination
- Identify gaps in test coverage, including regressions, edge-case and scenario-based testing, and recommend improvements to test strategy or execution
- Refine test reporting schema based on test request specifics, mission objectives, and autonomy performance indicators to provide actionable feedback and improve data quality for requesting teams
- Own the tracking and handoff of bugs and issues surfaced during testing, ensuring they are recorded, visible, and actioned by the appropriate engineering teams
- Define, track, and maintain testing metrics across platforms and sites, including autonomy performance, test coverage, pass/fail outcomes, regressions, and readiness indicators
- Provide visibility into testing progress, bottlenecks, and outcomes for Mission Ops, Engineering, and Leadership stakeholders
- Tailor reporting depth and format for different audiences, ranging from detailed engineering and autonomy analysis to leadership-level summaries focused on readiness and operational risk
Basic Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Robotics, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Systems Engineering, or a related technical field
- 5+ years of experience in test & evaluation, validation, or systems testing supporting software-intensive and autonomous systems
- Ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience testing and validating different sensor configurations consisting of perception, radar, GPS/GNSS, INS/IMU, etc., and assessing their impact on autonomy performance and system behavior
- Deep familiarity with software and autonomy testing methodologies, including regression testing, scenario-based testing, and edge-case validation
- Experience testing autonomous systems in maritime, robotics, automotive, or defense-adjacent environments
- Experience structuring and maintaining reusable test suites with clear traceability between test cases, requirements, and software versions
- Familiarity with metrics associated with maritime operations and autonomy systems, including DoD requirements and standards for autonomous systems
- Experience managing test execution and analysis across multiple software and autonomy builds, including regression comparison and version-to-version performance assessment
- Experience using version control platforms (GitHub) to manage code reviews, pull requests, and change tracking in support of test development, validation, and issue resolution
- Experience supporting software or autonomy release decisions through structured test results, regression analysis, and readiness indicators
- Experience supporting field or mission-based testing under real-world operational constraints (platform availability, environmental conditions, limited test windows)
- Experience with test management platforms (TestRail, Nominal, Foxglove) to support test execution tracking and results reporting
- Working knowledge of hardware systems relevant to autonomy platforms, including propulsion, power, sensors, communications, or embedded electronics, sufficient to support engine or electronics-focused test requests
- Experience with data management and analytics platforms (Databricks) to query large datasets and develop insights
- Demonstrated ability to define, track, and evolve autonomy and software performance metrics across software versions to identify regressions, improvements, and readiness trends
- Ability to work both autonomously and as a team in a highly demanding and fast-paced environment where test scope, software version, and priorities evolve rapidly
- Experience and ability to work with structured and semi-structured data formats in the form of MCAP and JSON files
- Experience with project management tools (Linear, Confluence, SharePoint) to support task tracking workflows, prioritization and cross-team coordination
- Experience managing a distributed team of engineers across multiple timezones
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, ability to make presentations to team members, internal customers and management
- Proficiency with documentation and communication tools, (Microsoft Office products, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, Lucidchart) for producing clear reports and briefings
- Strong track record for achieving results; must be able to reference wins and quantify impact
Physical Demands
- Ability to work at a desk for extended periods, up to 12 hours/day
- Position requires long hours and some nights and weekends when required to meet critical deadlines
- Ability to travel up to 25% of the time to various test sites in support of testing
Benefits
- Medical Insurance: Comprehensive health insurance plans covering a range of services
- Dental and Vision Insurance: Coverage for routine dental check-ups, orthodontics, and vision care
- Saronic pays 100% of the premium for employees and 80% for dependents
- Time Off: Generous PTO and Holidays
- Parental Leave: Paid maternity and paternity leave to support new parents
- Competitive Salary: Industry-standard salaries with opportunities for performance-based bonuses
- Retirement Plan: 401(k) plan
- Stock Options: Equity options to give employees a stake in the company’s success
- Life and Disability Insurance: Basic life insurance and short- and long-term disability coverage
- Additional Perks: Free lunch benefit and unlimited free drinks and snacks in the office
This role requires access to export-controlled information or items that require “U.S. Person” status. As defined by U.S. law, individuals who are any one of the following are considered to be a “U.S. Person”: (1) U.S. citizens, (2) legal permanent residents (a.k.a. green card holders), and (3) certain protected classes of asylees and refugees, as defined in 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3).
Saronic does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, color, religion, age, national origin, marital status, disability, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other reason prohibited by law in provision of employment opportunities and benefits.