Program Manager, Test Operations

Kodiak•Lancaster, TX

About The Position

The Program Manager, Test Operations owns the system that converts hardware and software test requests into an executable schedule across Kodiak’s sites, trucks, and contracted test tracks. The role manages request intake, triage, and prioritization, translating program priorities into queue order and providing the Test Operations team with a ready-to-execute schedule. It also manages day-to-day test track operations and the track operations budget. Working independently across Program Management, Engineering, and Test Operations, the Program Manager resolves operational conflicts with those teams and escalates capacity constraints with clear tradeoff recommendations. The role owns the test request workflow in Linear, coordinates tracks, trucks, drivers, and track slots, manages vendor and facility operations, and reports on scheduling performance, backlog, SLAs, and spend.

Requirements

At least 5 years of experience in test operations, fleet, flight, or vehicle test coordination, or similar high-tempo scheduling environments.
Experience owning a work-intake and scheduling system end to end.
Fluency with Linear or Jira, including SLAs, dashboards, and light automation.
Budget experience forecasting and defending a spend line, rather than only tracking it.
Vendor or facility management experience.
Ability to make and communicate priority decisions under pressure and work credibly with senior engineers.
Ability to communicate capacity limits professionally when demand exceeds capacity.
Strong organization and follow-through.

Nice To Haves

Autonomous vehicle, test operations, aerospace, or automotive proving ground background.
Experience building operational metrics and reporting from scratch.

Responsibilities

Own the test request workflow in Linear from intake through Ready to Schedule, including daily triage, request quality enforcement, and queue curation.
Define request templates and pre-filter standards with TPMs.
Run the weekly cross-site scheduling meeting and translate program priorities into queue order.
Define and enforce lead-time standards, including an expedited path for emergencies.
Resolve operational conflicts with program and site teams and escalate with clear tradeoff recommendations.
Book time across contracted test tracks and manage day-to-day vendor and facility operations.
Coordinate with site supervisors to match trucks, drivers, and track slots to the scheduled queue.
Own the track operations spend line by forecasting against the test plan, approving spend within delegated authority, and reporting monthly variance.
Publish weekly funnel metrics, including time-to-schedule, aging, and throughput, in standard Ops and MBR reporting.
Execute monthly backlog scrubs, SLA breach reviews, and ticket data quality audits.
Improve intake, scheduling, and reporting processes as test demand scales.

Benefits

Competitive compensation package including equity and annual bonus.
Medical, dental, and vision plans.
Accrued paid time off.
Generous parental leave policies.
Long-term disability and short-term disability insurance.
Life insurance.
Wellbeing benefits, including Headspace, One Medical, Gympass, and Spring Health.
Fidelity 401(k).
Commuter benefits.
Flexible spending account (FSA), dependent care FSA, and health savings account (HSA).
Incentive programs, including referral bonuses and patent bonuses.