Senior Manager, Dispatch Test Engineering

About the role

You will lead a team of software test and validation engineers while partnering closely with software development, systems engineering, product management, project delivery, systems integration, and customer-facing teams to improve product quality and strengthen execution across the Dispatch Engineering portfolio. You will also partner with other global Dispatch Engineering test and validation teams to align best practices and work towards a common framework.

The Senior Test Manager for Dispatch Engineering will improve product quality by building and leading a disciplined test program for dispatch and back-office solutions. This role combines people leadership with ownership of the Dispatch Engineering test center of excellence, helping global teams apply consistent practices, make data-driven quality decisions, and strengthen confidence in each release. By aligning engineers, tools, metrics, and test strategy across the product portfolio, the Test Manager will help reduce delivery risk, improve test effectiveness, and support safe, reliable, and predictable customer deployments.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop the US-based Dispatch Engineering test and validation team through resource planning, coaching, performance management, and team development.
• Establish and mature the Dispatch Engineering test center of excellence, including common frameworks, standards, templates, metrics, and guidance for consistent validation execution.
• Define and execute verification and validation strategies for dispatch and back-office products, with emphasis on product quality, test coverage, release readiness, and customer deployment confidence.
• Advance test automation by prioritizing automated coverage, strengthening regression capability, and integrating automation into delivery workflows.
• Partner with software development, systems engineering, product management, project delivery, systems integration, and support teams to align validation plans with scope, schedule, customer commitments, and deployment needs.
• Support proposal development by reviewing customer requirements, defining validation scope, identifying test assumptions and risks, and developing effort estimates for test planning, automation, execution, and deployment support.
• Oversee planning and execution for system integration testing, regression testing, performance validation, release readiness, and customer deployment support.
• Use quality metrics, defect trends, coverage analysis, and release readiness indicators to communicate status, identify risks, prioritize improvements, and reduce recurring issues.
• Represent Dispatch Engineering testing in leadership reviews, technical governance forums, release readiness discussions, proposal reviews, and customer-facing meetings.
• Promote a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, engineering rigor, inclusion, and customer-focused quality.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, MIS, Computer Science, or a closely related discipline; equivalent railroad signal industry experience may be considered in lieu of education.
• Minimum of 7 years of professional experience in software testing, test strategy, quality assurance, or validation.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience as a software lead, test lead, validation lead, or people manager responsible for driving execution across teams.
• Experience leading direct or matrixed engineering teams, including coaching, resource planning, performance management, and team development.
• Strong understanding of software test methodologies, test automation, regression testing, defect management, release readiness, and quality metrics.
• Experience establishing or improving test frameworks, standards, guidance, and measurable quality practices across engineering teams.
• Demonstrated ability to partner across software development, systems engineering, product, project delivery, and customer-facing teams to align validation strategy with business and release objectives.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present quality status, risks, priorities, and improvement plans to technical and leadership stakeholders.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with dispatch systems, railroad operations, signaling, train control, positive train control, or back-office railroad applications.
• Experience supporting system integration testing, field testing, release readiness, or customer deployment validation for complex, safety-critical systems.
• Experience guiding the creation, implementation, or governance of policies and procedures for test engineering across distributed or global engineering teams.
• Experience using quality metrics, defect trends, coverage analysis, or release readiness indicators to identify risks and guide engineering priorities.
• Familiarity with AI-assisted testing, automated test generation, continuous integration, modern validation tooling, or model-based systems engineering practices.

Work Environment

The employee normally works in a temperature-controlled environment, with frequent exposure to electronic office equipment. The employee is regularly required to talk and hear. Remaining in a stationary position, often standing or sitting for prolonged periods. Communicating with others to exchange information in the English language.

Able and willing to travel, domestic and international, up to 10%.

You may also be asked to perform other duties outside of your function or trade, for which adequate training will be provided if necessary.

Pay

The salary rate for this role is currently $104,800–$149,300. The actual salary offered to a candidate may be influenced by a variety of factors, including: training, transferable skills, work experience, education, business needs, market demands, and work location. The base pay range is subject to change and may be modified in the future.

Benefits

Offered benefits include health, welfare, and retirement plans. Other benefit offerings for this role may include an annual bonus, if eligible. More information on benefits is available at mywabtecbenefits.com.