Senior Program Manager, Development Testing Operations

Aurora•Coppell, TX

1d•$100,000 - $145,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Aurora's Product Operations team plays a critical role in ensuring new software releases are validated with rigor and speed before they reach our commercial fleet. We partner closely with Engineering, Safety, and Release Management to make sure every release - onboard and offboard - passes through well-defined, consistently executed test gates. We’re searching for a Senior Program Manager, Development Testing Operations (Release Testing) to own the test procedures that gate software releases, drive operational excellence in how those tests are executed, and close the feedback loop between test results and engineering. This is a hands-on role for someone who thinks in terms of process rigor, repeatability, and continuous improvement - not just getting a release out the door, but making sure it's actually ready. You are the owner of "did we test this the right way, and did we act on what we learned."

Requirements

5+ years of experience in Program Management, Project Management, Quality Assurance, Release Engineering, or a related role
Demonstrated experience owning or improving test procedures, QA processes, or release/quality gates in a technical environment
Ability to develop a functional understanding of how software releases move through a testing pipeline, including regression testing and staged rollout concepts
Experience driving process improvement and change management within a cross-functional organization
Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple test cycles and competing priorities
Clear written and verbal communication skills, with comfort translating technical test results into risk and status reporting for stakeholders at multiple levels
Comfort operating in environments where safety and quality are core requirements
Ability to support being part of an on-call rotation
Ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, evolving environment with shifting release schedules

Nice To Haves

Experience with release management, CI/CD pipelines, or regression testing frameworks in a technology or engineering-driven organization
Familiarity with defect/issue tracking and test management tooling (e.g., Jira, TestRail, or equivalent)
Proven experience managing relationships and expectations with senior leadership and cross-functional stakeholders
Comfort using dashboards or reporting tools to track test coverage, defect trends, and release readiness
Experience in autonomous vehicle, automotive, robotics, or similarly safety-critical operational environments
Passion for shipping reliable, high-quality releases and adapting to new responsibilities as the testing program scales

Responsibilities

Own release test procedures - maintain, version, and continuously improve the test plans, checklists, and standard operating procedures used to gate software releases, ensuring they stay current with engineering requirements and release cadence.
Communicate with stakeholders - Work with stakeholders to clearly communicate release timelines across engineering and operations
Ensure operational excellence in test execution - define clear pass/fail and escalation criteria, audit test runs for procedural adherence, and drive consistency so releases are tested the same rigorous way every time, minimizing re-work and re-testing.
Close the feedback loop - triage test failures and coverage gaps into actionable engineering tickets, track them to resolution, and ensure lessons learned from each release cycle are incorporated back into test procedures rather than lost.
Serve as a key input to release gating decisions - partner with Release Management and Engineering to confirm test evidence is complete and current ahead of go/no-go decisions.
Identify and reconcile gaps across test types - compare coverage across different stages of the release testing pipeline (e.g., component-level checks vs. full-release regression) to catch blind spots before they become production issues.
Drive continuous improvement of the testing program - lead initiatives to streamline test scope, reduce cycle time, and improve signal quality, balancing coverage against speed and cost.
Report status and risk - provide regular, clear updates to Engineering, Release Management, and Ops leadership on testing progress, blockers, and release readiness.