Test & Evaluation Manager

Chaos1 Pty; New South Wales; Hybrid; AUD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days annual leave

Clearance sponsorship

Mobilised at start

Enhanced superannuation

Job summary

Chaos1 is seeking a mission-first Manager to lead the Test & Evaluation team within the Mission Operations business line. You will lead test planning, execution and data capture across the full spectrum of test, evaluation and experimentation events, working with Defence end users to validate technologies in operational environments.

You will manage a multi-disciplinary team, ensure traceability from customer questions to results, and brief decision-grade findings to senior stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering or a related technical discipline; equivalent experience may substitute.
• Over 5 years in test and evaluation, with 3+ years leading a test team.
• Experience directing developmental or operational test of uncrewed, counter-uncrewed or autonomous systems.
• Hands-on experience executing test events in lab, range and field with data capture and reporting.
• Authority of test design and statistics across critical operational issues, measures and confidence.
• Fluency in Defence T&E documents including test concept documents, master plans, directives, plans and reports.
• Strong leadership and communication skills; ability to brief findings at senior levels.
• Willingness to deploy to Defence sites and ranges, including irregular hours in campaign windows.
• Australian citizenship and ability to obtain a NV1 security clearance.
• Onsite requirement at Chaos1's XFACTORY, Sydney; role open to hybrid work.

Responsibilities

• Lead test planning, execution and data capture for test, evaluation and experimentation events on Defence ranges and allied activities.
• Turn a customer's question into operational issues, measures and confidence, and design tests for campaigns.
• Own Chaos1's rapid assessment and operational test methodologies across design, measures, data standards and reporting.
• Run the range floor: serials, instrumentation, data capture and daily logs.
• Turn test data into decision-grade findings and brief to the owner, capability manager and test authority.
• Maintain traceability from customer question to measures to result and report coverage.
• Build and grow the test team across standards, the assessor course and Chaos1 certifications.
• Coordinate test readiness with the Chief Remote Pilot and Senior Engineer, feeding evidence into next tests.

Skills

Leadership & team management

Test planning & execution

Data analysis & statistics

Communication

Defense T&E documentation proficiency

Willingness to deploy

Australian citizenship

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering or related technical discipline

Tools

Python or MATLAB

Telemetry analysis

C2 log reduction

Job description

Chaos1 is an Australian defence company with a mission to forge a faster path to warfighter capability. Purpose-driven and mission-first, Chaos1 deploys the people, processes and technologies needed to tackle defence's toughest problems. In a world where time is short and the threats are real, Chaos1 is the catalyst that operates forward to rapidly field warfighter capability in months.

ABOUT THE TEAM

The Test and Evaluation team at Chaos1 works across the full range of Defence emerging technologies with a focus on counter-uncrewed and autonomous systems. Its analysts and engineers deploy Chaos1's rapid assessment and operational test methodologies to generate decision-grade data under compressed timeframes, on Defence ranges and at allied activities.

ABOUT THE JOB

Chaos1 is seeking a mission-first, non-traditional Manager to lead the Test & Evaluation team within our Mission Operations business line. You will lead test planning, execution and data capture across the full spectrum of test, evaluation and experimentation events. Working closely with Defence end users, you can expect to manage a multi-disciplinary team validating technologies in operationally relevant environments.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Lead test planning, execution and data capture for test, evaluation and experimentation events on Defence ranges and at allied activities
• Turn a customer's question into critical operational issues, measures, and confidence, and design a test that can run inside a campaign
• Own Chaos1's rapid assessment and operational test methodologies across test design, measures, data standards and reporting
• Run the range floor: serials, instrumentation, data capture and the daily logs
• Turn test data into decision-grade findings inside days, and brief them to the problem owner, the capability manager and the test authority
• Hold traceability from the customer's question through the measures to the result, and report test coverage and deficiency closure
• Build and grow the test team across standards, currency, the assessor course and the Chaos1 Certified Assessor qualification
• Run test readiness with the Chief Remote Pilot and hold the configuration under test with the Senior Engineer, and feed the evidence into the next test

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering or a related technical discipline. Equivalent experience may substitute.
• Over 5 years in test and evaluation, operational test or trials of Defence systems, with 3+ years leading a test team
• Experience directing developmental or operational test of uncrewed, counter-uncrewed or autonomous systems
• Hands-on experience executing test events in the lab, on the range and in the field, with the data capture and reporting that follows
• Demonstrated authority of test design and statistics across critical operational issues, measures and confidence
• Fluency in Defence T&E documents to include test concept documents, T&E master plans, trial directives, test plans and test reports
• Strong leadership and communication skills, with the ability to brief findings at senior levels inside Chaos1 and with the customer
• Willingness to deploy to Defence sites and ranges, including irregular hours in campaign windows
• Australian citizenship and ability to obtain a NV1 security clearance
• Ability to be onsite at Chaos1's XFACTORY, Sydney. The role is open to hybrid work.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• Master's degree in Systems Engineering or a related technical field
• Strong background in test event planning, verification and validation, and test reporting, including traceability from requirement to result
• Time with Defence and allied test organisations
• Certified Test and Evaluation Professional or an equivalent T&E qualification
• Hands-on with test data tooling (Python or MATLAB, telemetry, video and C2 log reduction, and test instrumentation)
• Experience with tactical datalinks, RF and networked C2 systems in an operational environment
• Familiarity with Defence and CASA regulation of uncrewed aircraft trials
• Time on UAS, counter-UAS or autonomy trials, including live-fire or electronic warfare events
• Test experience in operational settings, remote or austere environments
• Experience building a T&E team or an assessor training program from a low base
• A current NV1 security clearance or above

SALARY

A salary benchmarked against the Australian defence market, plus above-mandated superannuation and annual salary reviews. Where you sit depends on your experience and the breadth of your skills across the areas listed.

BENEFITS

• Superannuation above the mandated rate.
• 25 days of annual leave every year, a full week more than the standard four weeks.
• Clearance sponsorship. We sponsor your clearance and pay the vetting costs.
• Mobilised from the start. Your equipment, access and role brief are ready before you arrive, and you’ll be part of live work within your first fortnight.

PROTECTING YOURSELF FROM RECRUITMENT SCAMS

• Chaos1 never asks candidates for money, bank details or identity documents before an offer, and never asks you to buy equipment or pay for training
• We contact candidates only from @chaos1.au addresses and through our applicant tracking system; check anything else with [e-mail] before you act on it
• Report an approach made fraudulently in Chaos1's name to [e-mail] and to Scamwatch at scamwatch.gov.au

DATA PRIVACY

Chaos1 handles your application under Australian privacy law and our applicant privacy notice. Offers are conditional on pre-employment screening, which may be run by a third-party provider and covers identity, right to work, qualifications and licences, references and a national police check. Clearance sponsorship runs through the Australian Government Security Vetting Agency and requires Australian citizenship. The role involves access to technology controlled under Australian export-control law and, on some programs, US ITAR and EAR, with access limited to authorised persons.