Engineering Manager, Validation

As an Engineering Manager you will lead our Validation team in Pune, which validates every release of the Deep Connected Platform before it reaches customer vehicles: embedded firmware on telematics units and gateways, the cloud platform, and the bundled solutions we deliver to OEMs. You will own release quality from the branch cut to customer delivery. This is a player coach role for someone who wants to manage people and stay close to the technical work, with a strong firmware lean, since that is where most of our hardest problems sit.

What you'll do:

• Lead the Validation Team: Manage, coach, and grow validation engineers and squad leads, setting clear goals and providing regular feedback and career development.
• Own Release Validation: Validate every firmware release branch on our biweekly cadence and give a clear go or no go before a release ships to customers.
• Grow Test Automation: Expand automated regression on HIL benches, LabCar, and virtual vehicles, wired into CI/CD so each release cut is tested without manual steps.
• Drive V Model Validation: Build full V model traceability from customer and product requirements down to test cases and automated runs, define a clear Definition of Done for release validation, and keep validation compliant with Automotive SPICE (SYS.5 system qualification testing and SWE.6 software qualification testing).
• Lead Stress and Fault Testing: Run end to end black box validation, fault injection, negative scenarios, and multiday endurance and stress tests across virtual vehicles, HIL benches, and cloud interfaces, to catch edge case bugs before customer delivery.
• Raise Test Quality: Find gaps in test plans and run bug escape analysis so the same class of issue does not reach a customer twice.
• Support Customer Programs: Plan validation for OEM releases with Program Management and Solutions, and deliver test reports customers can trust.
• Partner Across Functions: Work closely with Firmware, Cloud, and Product teams on testability, triage, and fix verification.
• Scale with AI: Bring AI tools into test design, automation, reporting, and analysis, and help the team adopt them in daily work.

What you should know:

• Professional Experience: 8 to 12 years in validation, QA, or test engineering, including 2 to 4 years directly managing a team.
• Embedded Validation: Hands on experience validating firmware on real hardware (ECUs, telematics units, or IoT devices), with working knowledge of CAN and vehicle diagnostics (UDS).
• HIL and Automation: Experience setting up and running HIL rigs or test benches, and building Python test automation integrated into CI/CD (GitLab or similar).
• People Leadership: Demonstrated ability to manage, coach, and grow engineers, including performance conversations and hiring.
• Release Ownership: Track record of owning release sign off across several products or customer programs at once without dropping quality.
• Communication: Strong written and verbal communication, comfortable representing the team to engineers, program managers, and customers.
• On Site in Pune: Based in Pune and working from our office, close to the labs and test benches.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Cloud and API Testing: Experience testing SaaS platforms and REST APIs, to validate end to end from vehicle to cloud.
• OTA/Update Systems: Familiarity with over the air update systems or vehicle software management platforms.
• Standards Exposure: Familiarity with automotive process and safety standards (e.g., ASPICE, ISO 26262, ISO/SAE 21434).
• AI in Testing: Experience using AI tools to speed up test design, automation, or analysis.

Skills

CAN, CI / CD, Embedded, Firmware, HIL, Python, QA, Testing, UDS, Validation