Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Verification & Validation Manager

🎯 Role Definition

The Verification & Validation (V&V) Manager leads test strategy, planning, execution, and reporting activities across hardware, software, and systems engineering domains to ensure products meet design requirements, quality objectives, and regulatory standards. This role is accountable for developing and implementing verification and validation processes, building and mentoring high-performing V&V teams, maintaining requirements traceability, driving test automation and CI/CD for testing, coordinating with cross-functional stakeholders (systems, design, suppliers, quality, and regulatory affairs), and delivering evidence packages for certification, customer acceptance, and internal go-to-market readiness.

Key SEO / LLM keywords: Verification & Validation Manager, V&V Manager, verification and validation, test strategy, test automation, requirements traceability, regulatory compliance, ISO 26262, DO-178C, IEC 62304, FDA, HIL, SIL, test management, embedded systems testing.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Senior Test Engineer / Lead Test Engineer (Software or Embedded)
Systems Verification Engineer / Systems Test Engineer
Quality Engineer with systems integration and testing experience

Advancement To:

Director of Verification & Validation / Director of Quality Engineering
Head of Systems Engineering or Head of Product Engineering
VP of Engineering / VP of Quality & Regulatory Affairs

Lateral Moves:

Program / Project Manager for complex engineering programs
Product Manager for safety- or compliance-critical product lines

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Develop, communicate and execute a comprehensive verification and validation strategy and test roadmap for complex hardware-software systems that aligns with product roadmaps, regulatory milestones, and customer delivery schedules.
Own the end-to-end V&V lifecycle: author and approve verification plans, validation plans, system and subsystem test plans, acceptance criteria, and test cases that are fully traceable to requirements and risk controls.
Lead cross-functional verification campaigns (unit, integration, system, regression, acceptance) including scheduling, resourcing, equipment planning, test environment setup, and issue escalation to meet time-to-market and release quality goals.
Establish and enforce requirements traceability matrices and governance processes using industry-standard tools (e.g., IBM DOORS, Polarion, Jira) to ensure every requirement has clear verification or validation evidence.
Define and maintain the V&V test architecture including MIL/SIL/HIL strategies, test benches, hardware rigs, simulators, and automated test frameworks to maximize repeatability and reproducibility of results.
Architect and drive test automation initiatives: select test automation tools, design automation frameworks, integrate with CI/CD pipelines (e.g., Jenkins, GitLab CI), and establish automated regression suites to accelerate feedback loops.
Manage and mentor a multidisciplinary V&V team of test engineers, systems testers, automation engineers, and lab technicians; set objectives, run performance reviews, recruit talent, and develop career paths and training programs.
Coordinate with systems engineering and design teams to interpret requirements, perform gap analysis, and ensure testability and observability are considered early in the design lifecycle.
Oversee supplier and subcontractor V&V activities: define test deliverables, assess supplier test artifacts, perform incoming verification acceptance, and ensure supplier compliance with contractual and regulatory obligations.
Drive compliance with applicable regulatory and safety standards (e.g., ISO 26262, DO-178C, IEC 62304, ISO 13485, FDA guidance), and prepare verification evidence packages to support audits, certification, and regulatory submissions.
Lead and facilitate formal design reviews, verification readiness reviews, validation reviews, and test readiness reviews, capturing action items and accountability to close verification gaps on schedule.
Define and track V&V metrics and KPIs (test coverage, pass/fail rates, defect escape, mean time to detect/resolve) and present actionable dashboards to senior leadership to inform release decisions and continuous improvement.
Perform and oversee rigorous test failure investigations and root cause analyses, drive corrective actions and design changes, and validate fixes through regression and targeted validation campaigns.
Develop and maintain comprehensive test environments, including real-time simulators, network emulators, fixtures, instrumentation, and telemetry systems, ensuring calibration, safety, and repeatability of test results.
Manage V&V project budgets, staffing plans, capital equipment procurement, and lab resource allocation to support multiple concurrent programs while balancing cost, schedule, and technical risk.
Ensure robust data integrity and configuration management of test artifacts and evidence (test scripts, logs, runbooks, lab notebooks) and collaborate with configuration management to maintain baselines for verification evidence.
Collaborate with regulatory affairs, quality assurance, and product teams to define acceptance criteria, customer verification requirements, and to resolve customer escalations and quality dispute cases with clear evidence and remediation plans.
Create and maintain templates, SOPs, and best practices for verification and validation activities to institutionalize repeatable processes and reduce variance across product lines and programs.
Drive continuous improvement of V&V processes by conducting post-release retrospectives, implementing lessons learned, integrating new tools and methodologies (model-based testing, property-based testing), and developing training for engineering teams.
Participate in contract review and technical proposal activities to define V&V scope, schedules, resource requirements, and to identify technical risks and mitigation strategies in bids and statements of work.
Represent V&V in program governance, cross-functional program management meetings, and risk committees to ensure verification progress and product quality are visible and prioritized through delivery.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc technical investigations, prototyping, and feasibility testing to answer key design questions and reduce technical risk early in the development lifecycle.
Contribute to test infrastructure roadmap and lab modernization initiatives, including migration to cloud-assisted test environments and remote test access.
Partner with R&D to introduce model-in-the-loop (MIL), software-in-the-loop (SIL), and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) practices into the V&V pipeline to increase test coverage and detect defects earlier.
Coordinate knowledge transfer and handover of verification artifacts to sustainment and field support teams to enable efficient in-service troubleshooting and change management.
Provide subject matter expertise to sales and customer support during technical reviews, bid defenses, and technical due diligence calls regarding verification and validation strategy and results.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Test Strategy & Planning: proven ability to develop verification and validation strategies across multiple layers (unit, integration, system, acceptance) and to create detailed test plans and acceptance criteria aligned to requirements.
Requirements Traceability: deep experience implementing and maintaining traceability matrices and using requirements management tools (IBM DOORS, Polarion, Jama, or equivalent).
Regulatory & Safety Standards: hands-on knowledge of industry standards and certification requirements such as ISO 26262 (automotive), DO-178C (avionics), IEC 62304 (medical devices), ISO 13485, and FDA guidance — able to translate standards into practical V&V activities.
Test Automation & CI/CD: expertise with automated test frameworks, scripting languages (Python, Bash), test runners, and CI/CD integration (Jenkins, GitLab CI, Azure DevOps).
Embedded Systems & Software Testing: experience testing embedded software, firmware, real-time systems, RTOS, and familiarity with debug tools, logic analyzers, and serial protocols.
MIL/SIL/HIL: design and execution of model-in-the-loop, software-in-the-loop, and hardware-in-the-loop environments including tooling and testbench design.
Test Management Tools: proficiency with test case management and defect tracking tools (TestRail, Zephyr, Xray, Jira) and ability to implement test management workflows.
Instrumentation & Lab Equipment: knowledge of test lab instrumentation, data acquisition, oscilloscopes, power analyzers, environmental chambers, and lab safety practices.
Root Cause & Failure Analysis: structured problem solving with tools such as 8D, 5 Whys, FMEA, and capability to lead cross-functional failure investigations.
Data Analysis & Reporting: ability to analyze large test result datasets, write clear test reports and verification evidence, and produce executive-level dashboards.
Configuration & Change Management: experience coordinating with configuration management and controlled baselines for test artifacts and software/hardware revisions.
Supplier V&V Oversight: experience managing external suppliers’ V&V deliverables, audits, and third-party test evidence review.
Optional / Preferred: experience with model-based design tools (MATLAB/Simulink), static/dynamic code analysis tools, VectorCAST, Tessy, DO-178C toolchain, or industry-specific simulators.

Soft Skills

Leadership & People Management: proven ability to hire, mentor, coach, and retain high-performing V&V teams, and to create clear goals and development plans.
Communication & Stakeholder Management: excellent written and verbal communication skills to present technical results to engineering teams, program management, quality, and executive leadership.
Strategic Thinking & Planning: ability to translate business objectives and program constraints into pragmatic V&V roadmaps and priorities.
Cross-functional Collaboration: skilled at working across systems engineering, product management, manufacturing, suppliers, regulatory and quality functions to drive work to closure.
Decision-making & Risk Management: confident in making release decisions with incomplete data, articulating residual risks, and implementing mitigation strategies.
Time Management & Prioritization: strong organizational skills to juggle multiple programs, deadlines, and competing priorities while maintaining quality.
Continuous Improvement Mindset: committed to process improvement, automation, and sharing best practices across teams.
Influence & Negotiation: ability to negotiate scope, schedules, and test coverage with engineering teams, customers, and suppliers to achieve realistic, risk-based outcomes.
Attention to Detail: meticulous about test artifact completeness, evidence quality, and reproducible test procedures.
Teaching & Mentorship: aptitude for building training programs and upskilling engineers in testing best practices and tool usage.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in Engineering (Electrical, Mechanical, Software, Systems), Computer Science, or related technical discipline.

Preferred Education:

Master's degree in Systems Engineering, Software Engineering, Computer Science, or an MBA for senior managerial roles.
Relevant professional certifications (e.g., ISTQB Advanced, PMP, Certified Systems Engineering Professional (CSEP), ISO auditor training).

Relevant Fields of Study:

Systems Engineering
Computer Science / Software Engineering
Electrical or Electronic Engineering
Mechanical Engineering (for hardware-heavy products)
Biomedical / Medical Device Engineering (if applicable)

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 8–15+ years of progressive verification, validation, and testing experience with at least 3–5 years in a leadership or people-management role.

Preferred:

Demonstrated track record managing V&V for safety- or regulatory-critical products (automotive, aerospace, medical devices, industrial controls).
Experience delivering evidence for certification or regulatory submissions and interacting with auditors and certification bodies.
Proven success implementing automated test frameworks, CI/CD for testing, and scaling test operations across multiple product lines.