Senior Validation and Verification Test Specialist

Senior Validation and Verification Test Specialist Location: Ottawa, Canada (Hybrid) In fast‑changing markets, Thales offers innovative defense solutions across aerospace, transportation, security and space. The Ottawa office partners with DND and the Canadian Armed Forces, supporting mission‑critical projects. Position Summary: The IVVQ specialist will lead integration, verification, validation, and qualification activities for complex systems on the LC4ISR program. The role includes serving as a SAFe Agile Product Owner or Scrum Master, driving test backlog, sprint execution, cross‑team coordination, and stakeholder alignment in a scaled Agile environment. Key Areas of Responsibility: Define, develop and execute IVVQ strategies, plans, procedures and test cases across unit, integration, system, regression and qualification levels. Lead integration and system‑level test campaigns in lab and field environments; coordinate configuration items, test harnesses, instrumentation and test data. Plan and execute test events. Write test plans and procedures that verify and validate the product. Analyze requirements and contribute to traceability matrices. Develop test cases. Work with system and software engineering to identify and analyze defects. Capture, classify and manage anomalies and non‑conformances through to closure; support root cause analysis and corrective actions. Provide test reports and status updates on test activities. Deploy methodologies, tools and platforms necessary for test activities. Ensure adherence to test guidelines and internal processes. Create and maintain traceability between requirements, design artefacts and test cases; manage requirement change impact. Manage test environments, tooling and automation (CI/CD, test benches, simulators, emulators). Prepare test reports, qualification packages and evidence for certification or customer acceptance. As Product Owner: Own and prioritize the test/product backlog, write and refine user stories and acceptance criteria, define release priorities, represent test/product interests in PI planning and stakeholder meetings. As Scrum Master: Facilitate Scrum (and/or Agile) ceremonies, remove impediments, drive continuous improvement, coach the team on Agile/SAFe principles and ensure delivery flow. Coordinate across engineering teams, systems engineers, safety, quality, suppliers and customers to align IVVQ activities with program objectives. Monitor and report IVVQ status and key metrics (coverage, pass/fail, defect trends, test progress) to leadership and stakeholders. Apply risk‑based testing approaches and contribute to verification and validation strategies that satisfy regulatory or domain standards. Contribute to test automation and tooling improvements. Coordinate with Engineering Delivery Managers and Project Managers to report progress, identify shortfalls and recommend efficiency improvements. Minimum Qualifications: At least eight (8) years of experience in IV&V or a related field. Strong stakeholder management and communication skills. Organized, detail‑oriented and results‑driven. Collaborative team player with leadership capabilities when acting as PO/SM. Previous experience with test case development and execution (manual or automated), requirements analysis, and test management tools. Fluent in English with excellent written and spoken communication skills. Attention to detail. Preferred Qualifications: Experience in military systems (land systems, system of systems engineering and integration, core network, applications). Experience handling physical systems, products, or equipment. Experience in automation. Demonstrated experience in Agile teams and SAFe environment, serving as Product Owner and/or Scrum Master. Strong understanding of requirements management and traceability; experience with DOORS, Polarion, Jira or equivalent. Practical experience with test tools and automation frameworks (TestRail, Jenkins, Robot Framework, VectorCAST, LabVIEW, Python scripting) and CI/CD pipelines for testing. Bachelor’s degree or college diploma in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Computer Technology or related discipline. Special Position Requirements: Test sites may be in remote or difficult‑to‑navigate locations; the ability to navigate such sites is a necessity. Minimal lifting of test and electronic equipment may be required. Schedule: 8 hours Mon‑Fri. Physical Environment: Hybrid and/or other customer sites. Travel: Occasional travel within the Ottawa area for technical meetings and planning. Benefits: Company‑paid extended health, dental, HSA, life, AD&D, short‑term disability, cancer care program, travel insurance, Employee Assistance Program and Well‑Being program. Retirement savings plans with company contribution and DCPP match. Company‑paid holidays, vacation days and paid sick leave. Voluntary life, AD&D, critical illness, long‑term disability. Employee discounts on home, auto and gym membership. Thales is an equal‑opportunity employer committed to diversity, inclusivity and accommodations throughout the interview process. Regulatory compliance: Candidates must be able to obtain Canadian Secret, Controlled Goods, ITAR, NATO Secret and COMSEC security clearances. #J-18808-Ljbffr