R&D Test Manager - Software, Validation & Verification
About the job
- Bachelor's or Master's degree in Engineering Physics, Software Engineering, Computer Science or a related technical field.
- Minimum of 8 years of experience in software development or V&V engineering, with at least 3 years in a leadership or management role.
- Strong understanding of software development lifecycle (SDLC) and various V&V methodologies, including agile and waterfall models.
- Proven experience in developing and implementing comprehensive test strategies for complex software products.
- Expertise in test automation frameworks, tools, and best practices (e.g., Selenium, Robot Framework, JUnit, NUnit, pytest).
- Solid programming skills in one or more languages such as Python, C++, Java, or C#.
- Experience with continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipelines and tools (e.g., Jenkins, GitLab CI/CD).
- Familiarity with version control systems (e.g., Git) and defect tracking systems (e.g., Jira).
- Excellent leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills with the ability to motivate and guide technical teams.
- Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, dynamic environment and manage multiple priorities simultaneously.
- Familiarity with optical networking equipment and photonic test instruments (OPM, OSW, VOA, SRC, OSA)
- Experience in the telecommunications or network test and measurement industry is a significant asset.
- Acts as a hands-on technical manager with proven experience leading teams while remaining actively involved in day-to-day technical work with strong fiber-optics experience.
- Good experience with fiber-optical test and measurement equipment, including setup, execution, analysis, and interpretation of results.
- Demonstrated programming and scripting experience, including working with systems that use various communication protocols. Test automation expertise, with automation framework like Playwright as a required technology.
- Collaborate with hardware, systems, and firmware teams to validate end-to-end system performance.
- Quality-focused, detail-oriented. Proactive in identifying risks and driving continuous improvement.
- Lead, mentor, and manage a team of software V&V engineers, fostering a culture of technical excellence, collaboration, and continuous learning.
- Define, implement, and optimize V&V strategies, test plans, and methodologies for complex software systems, ensuring comprehensive coverage and adherence to industry best practices.
- Oversee the design, development, and execution of automated test suites, test cases, and test environments.
- Collaborate closely with development, product management, and quality assurance teams to integrate V&V activities throughout the software development lifecycle (SDLC).
- Drive the investigation, reproduction, and resolution of software defects, working closely with development teams to ensure timely fixes and quality releases.
- Establish and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) for V&V activities, providing regular reports on project status, quality metrics, and team performance.
- Manage project schedules, resources, and budgets for V&V initiatives, ensuring on-time and within-budget delivery.
- Stay current with emerging V&V technologies, tools, and methodologies, driving their adoption where beneficial to improve efficiency and effectiveness.
- Contribute to the continuous improvement of software development processes and quality assurance practices across the organization.
About the company
VIAVI Solutions provides test, measurement, and assurance products for networks and services, along with optical security solutions. It serves mobile operators, governments, enterprise networks, and infrastructure contractors, offering hardware and software tools to design, deploy, monitor, and verify network performance and security. Unlike many competitors, VIAVI combines breadth across telecom networks with optical security capabilities and serves a global customer base, enabling end-to-end validation and protection of critical infrastructure. The company’s goal is to help customers deploy and operate reliable, high-performance networks and services while ensuring security and compliance.
Company Size
5,001-10,000
Company Stage
IPO
Headquarters
Chandler, Arizona
Founded
1923
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Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- Fiscal 2026 revenue reached $1.518 billion, up 40%, driven by data-center demand.
- Q4 FY2026 NSE revenue hit $353.9 million, up 69.2%, with Spirent contributing $47.7 million.
- VIAVI won $1.1 million SHIELD-6G funding and PCI-SIG Gold Suite acceptance in 2026.
What critics are saying
- January 2026 restructuring cut 5% of staff, proving VIAVI still carries excess cost.
- NSE depends on hyperscaler spending; a capex pause would hit revenue in 2027.
- Traditional wireless testing stays soft; losing one large data-center customer would crush growth and multiples.
What makes Viavi Solutions unique
- VIAVI couples Spirent assets with TestCenter for Ultra Ethernet and 1.6T AI-fabric validation.
- Vertex 6.0 emulates 6G and Wi-Fi 7/8, spanning cellular, military, and aerospace.
- CyberFlood CF50 and Xgig PCIe 6.0 create one vendor stack for security and compliance.
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Benefits
Health Insurance
401(k) Retirement Plan
Growth & Insights and Company News
6 month growth
7%1 year growth
7%2 year growth
7%VIAVI Solutions has won a US Army contract to supply its T/Rx software defined transceiver system for Army test ranges. The Army's Threat Systems Management Office (TSMO) will use it to recreate the electromagnetic conditions of the modern battlefield. The ranges are part of the Test Range Private Industry Initiative, which opens five range facilities to commercial developers of drones, counter-drone systems, long-range fires, and low-cost interceptors. Companies without government contracts can use them. At Camp Grayling, one of the sites, the T/Rx supplied on demand the electronic warfare conditions seen in Ukraine during a September 2026 test. The unit is compact, rugged, and generates and collects signals at the same time.
Viavi Solutions has launched the CyberFlood CF50, an all-in-one platform for testing application performance, security and artificial intelligence inference at speeds up to 100G. The 1U appliance combines Layer 4-7 traffic generation, security assessment and AI inference testing in a compact format. The platform enables network equipment manufacturers, systems integrators, service providers and enterprises to evaluate network and security infrastructure before deployment. It produces realistic encrypted and mixed application traffic whilst supporting Zero Trust architectures. Viavi claims the CF50 offers the industry's lowest power consumption, native post-quantum cryptography support, and TLS performance 1.75 times that of its nearest competitor. The platform features a web-based interface and supports automated goal-seeking and MITRE ATT&CK frameworks.
VIAVI Solutions' Network and Service Enablement segment delivered strong fourth-quarter results, with revenues reaching $353.9 million, up 69.2% year over year and exceeding guidance of $340-$348 million. The data centre ecosystem is now a key growth driver, with demand coming from semiconductor companies, optical module manufacturers, and hyperscalers. The company benefits from migration toward higher-speed networking, with 800G as the current volume driver and 1.6-terabit technology expected to fuel growth in coming quarters. Integration of Spirent product lines strengthens VIAVI's portfolio in high-speed Ethernet and network validation. For the first quarter of 2027, management expects NSE revenues of $360-$368 million with operating margin at 23.1%. However, risks include soft traditional wireless testing demand and reliance on continued data centre investment.
Paul McNab, executive vice president and chief marketing and strategy officer of Viavi Solutions, sold 11,032 shares of common stock on 11 September 2026 for approximately $429,917, according to an SEC filing. The transaction was executed at a weighted average price of $38.97 per share. The sale represented 30% of McNab's holdings before the transaction. Following the sale, McNab retains 25,639 shares held directly, valued at approximately $993,511 based on the closing price of $38.75 per share. Viavi Solutions, based in Chandler, Arizona, provides network testing and monitoring solutions. The company reported trailing twelve-month revenue of $1.5 billion and has a market capitalisation of $9.6 billion.
Laura Black, a director at Viavi Solutions, sold 71,000 shares of common stock for $3.3 million on 17 August 2026, according to an SEC filing. The transaction represented 50% of her direct equity stake in the company. Following the sale, Black retains 71,497 shares valued at approximately $3.31 million. The shares were sold at a weighted average price of $46.12. Viavi Solutions provides network testing, monitoring, and assurance solutions to telecommunications service providers, equipment manufacturers, and government organisations. The company operates through three business segments: Network Enablement, Network Intelligence, and Optical Security. The company maintains a market capitalisation of $11.4 billion despite reporting a trailing twelve-month net loss of $30.4 million on revenue of $1.5 billion.