Principal Test Director

Leidos•Gaithersburg, MD

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

Leidos is seeking a Test Director to own the test, verification and validation (V&V) function for a newly awarded international air traffic modernization program. This ground-floor opportunity includes establishing the test organization, building the team, defining the strategy and operating rhythm, and implementing the acceptance framework for a modern, AI-enabled air traffic system through formal acceptance and operational service. The program will design, integrate, test, implement, and provide long-term support for a new Enroute Air Navigation Services (ANS) System for Avians, the air navigation service provider responsible for Iceland and the surrounding North Atlantic airspace. The engagement includes design, testing and implementation; operational and support services; and eventual exit or transition. Following Operational Acceptance, the support term extends 15 years. The program includes a Local Development Centre (LDC), a co-development model with a Development Partner, and explicit provisions governing AI use. Leidos retains full responsibility for the system and services. The Test Director owns the test effort end-to-end and directs the coordinated test programme across the acceptance lifecycle, consistent with the Avians Enroute System Agreement and Appendix F (Acceptance). This lifecycle includes design reviews (PDR/CDR), Factory Acceptance Test (FAT), Installation Acceptance Test (IAT), Confidence/Stability testing, System Security Acceptance Testing (SSAT), Site Acceptance Test (SAT), Technical Transfer, Operational Readiness Demonstration (ORD), and the Operational Verification period leading to Operational Acceptance (OA). The role operates independently of the delivery and engineering line to provide objective, evidence-based assurance. Customer approval of a milestone does not itself constitute acceptance of the System. The position is based in Gaithersburg, MD, and is hybrid, with substantial on-site presence and travel to Iceland for factory and site activities during installation, acceptance, transition, shadow operations, and operational verification.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or higher in an appropriate discipline, such as Systems Engineering, Electronic/Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related technical/STEM field; an equivalent combination of education and experience is accepted.
At least 12 years of total professional experience in test, verification and validation, and/or engineering of large, complex systems and subsystems.
At least 7 years in a test leadership or test-management role directing test managers and engineers in planning and executing a coordinated test programme; this experience is part of the 12-year total.
Senior test-role involvement in at least one delivery of a comparable mission- or safety-critical system carried through formal acceptance to operational service; ATM/ANS or an equivalent real-time, high-availability system is preferred.
Working knowledge of V&V practices for large, complex, safety-critical systems, including RTM/VRTM and traceability-matrix management.
Competence with industry-standard test-management, requirements-management, defect-tracking, and configuration-management tools, and continuous-integration/automated build-and-test environments.
Cybersecurity acceptance-testing awareness, including penetration testing, sufficient to direct and integrate SSAT into the acceptance programme.
Excellent written and verbal English communication, including authoring and presenting test documentation, readiness assessments such as Pre-Test Reviews, and Test Reports to a customer-approval standard.
Strong leadership, planning, and stakeholder-management skills, including ability to direct multidisciplinary test teams and work confidently with the customer, operational stakeholders (ATCOs, ATSEPs, SYSOPs), and quality/safety-assurance functions.
Must be legally authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship.
Willingness and ability to work on-site as required during installation, acceptance, transition, shadow operations, and operational verification, and to travel internationally to Iceland between factory and site locations.

Nice To Haves

U.S. citizenship (desired, not required).
Ability to obtain and maintain a Public Trust (desired, not required).
Master’s degree in a relevant engineering, computing, or systems discipline.
Recognized test/quality certification, such as ISTQB Foundation or Advanced Test Manager, or an equivalent industry test-management qualification.
Familiarity with quality and assurance frameworks such as ISO 9001 or AS9100 and safety/software-assurance standards applicable to ATM systems, such as EUROCAE ED-109A, RTCA DO-278A software assurance levels, and EASA-aligned certification evidence.
Prior senior test experience on ATM/ANS or comparable real-time, high-availability, safety-critical systems carried through formal acceptance to operational service.
Experience supporting customer-side and co-development teams, including a Local Development Centre and development-partner integration.
Familiarity with safety-critical software engineering and safety-assurance activities, including Safety Case development through V&V evidence.
Experience directing test and evaluation in a regulated, milestone-driven environment with formal customer witnessing and acceptance.

Responsibilities

Own the end-to-end test and evaluation function, including test strategy, plans, procedures and scripts, pass/fail criteria, test environments and tooling, execution, reports, and re-test and regression management.
Establish the test organization for the newly awarded program, forecast staffing and skill needs, recruit and onboard test managers and engineers, and integrate the multidisciplinary team.
Prepare testing documents for customer approval and conduct acceptance tests against approved criteria.
Establish and maintain a requirements-to-test traceability matrix (RTM/VRTM) mapping every test to its requirement.
Lead formal acceptance events (FAT, IAT, and SAT) with customer participation and witnessing, supporting the customer's rights to witness and conduct free testing and providing access to verification activities, tools, and reports.
Embed continuous, risk-based testing across the lifecycle, including early acceptance criteria and test scenarios, traceability, unit and string testing to full code coverage, continuous integration and automated build-and-test, progressive system and interface integration, and pre-FAT/SAT dry runs.
Direct unit, integration, functional, operational, performance and response-time under maximum load, capacity, monitoring and control, redundancy and switchover, system recovery, overload-handling, and security testing.
Direct and integrate System Security Acceptance Testing (SSAT), including penetration testing, within the overall acceptance programme.
Support customer-side and co-development teams, including the Local Development Centre and development-partner integration, and coordinate verification of integrated builds and third-party interfaces.
Develop and manage integrated verification schedules, identify test-related program risks, coordinate cross-functional readiness, and provide executive-level status reporting to customer and contractor leadership.
Support Safety Case development through V&V evidence, traceability, and disciplined configuration and change control, consistent with safety-critical software engineering and safety-assurance activities.
Manage defect identification, triage, and resolution through a consolidated test defect list; close defects only after rectification, successful re-test, and customer approval.