Test Program Manager Jobs in Minnesota (NOW HIRING)

Test Manager

Golden Valley, Minnesota,

Role Summary

The Test Lead/Test Manager will be responsible for end-to-end Design Verification (DV) and Product Validation (PV) test program

management for mechatronics products during New Product Development (NPD). The role will own validation planning, DVP&R

development, test readiness, execution governance, issue tracking, lab and supplier coordination, test report review, and

validation sign-off readiness.

The role acts as the single point of contact for validation activities across product engineering, system engineering, design,

quality, manufacturing, suppliers, external laboratories, and customer stakeholders. The objective is to ensure that the product

meets functional, reliability, environmental, safety, compliance, and launch-readiness requirements within agreed cost, quality,

and timeline targets.

Key Responsibilities:

DV/PV Program Management

Lead complete DV and PV validation programs from NPD planning through production launch readiness.

Prepare and maintain the validation master plan, test milestones, execution schedule, and resource plan.

Track validation progress, risks, dependencies, blockers, and open actions through structured governance.

Conduct weekly/monthly validation reviews with engineering, quality, suppliers, laboratories, and customer stakeholders.

Drive timely completion of validation activities while balancing cost, quality, schedule, and risk.

DVP&R Ownership

Develop, update, and control Design Verification Plan & Report (DVP&R).

Define test objectives, specification references, test methods, acceptance criteria, sample quantity, sample level, test location,

timing, and responsible owner.

Ensure traceability from product requirements and compliance needs to test cases and validation evidence.

Review planned vs. actual results, test status, comments, deviations, and sign-off criteria.

Validation Strategy & Planning

Translate product requirements, system requirements, customer specifications, standards, and risk inputs into a robust

validation strategy.

Define test coverage across functional, environmental, mechanical, electrical, reliability, durability, safety, and regulatory

requirements.

Plan validation gateways for prototype, engineering sample, pre-DV, DV, PV, and production-intent builds.

Identify critical tests, long-lead tests, sample constraints, instrumentation needs, and test dependencies.

Test Readiness & Execution Governance

Coordinate test setup readiness including fixtures, test rigs, instrumentation, data acquisition, software/firmware version,

sample preparation, and work instructions.

Monitor test execution and ensure adherence to approved procedures and acceptance criteria.

Review test data, trends, deviations, anomalies, and test reports for completeness and technical accuracy.

Ensure pre-test, during-test, and post-test functional checks are performed where applicable.

Lab, Supplier & External Partner Management

Coordinate with internal laboratories, external ISO/IEC 17025 accredited laboratories, suppliers, and third-party test agencies.

Manage sample logistics, test slot booking, test request release, quote review, purchase/order coordination, and report follow-

up.

Evaluate test lab capability, equipment readiness, calibration status, environmental

EXPERTISE AND QUALIFICATIONS

"Functional & System Validatio: Feature verification, software-hardware integration, sensor/actuator validation, communication

interface checks, use-case validation

Environmental Validation: High/low temperature, thermal cycling, thermal shock, humidity, salt spray, corrosion, chemical

resistance, IP protection;

Mechanical & Durability Validation: Vibration, mechanical shock, drop, endurance, fatigue, impact, structural robustness, fixture-based tests;

Electrical & Electronics Validation: Power cycling, insulation, continuity, connector/harness validation, EMC/EMI, electrical load/abuse tests;

Reliability & Life Testing: HALT, HASS, ALT, life cycle testing, mission-profile based testing, accelerated durability, DVP&R development and control, DFMEA/PFMEA support, Knowledge of test standards such as ISO, IEC, SAE, DIN, JIS, EN, MIL, LV214, USCAR, and customer-specific test specifications where applicable.

8D, 5 Why, fishbone, FMEA, FTA, DOE, control plans, audit-ready validation documentation.

Minitab/JMP or statistics tools, Power BI/Excel, data acquisition and analysis tools.

MS Project, Excel dashboards, Jira/Azure DevOps or equivalent issue/action tracking tools, Project Management / Cross Functional experience"