Director, Test Engineering

Vertiv Corporation; Westerville (OH); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Vertiv in Westerville, OH seeks a Director of Test Engineering to define and govern our enterprise test strategy across product development, validation, manufacturing and certification. You will own DVT governance, coordinate with LoBs and regions, and drive cross-functional test automation initiatives to improve reliability and speed.

The role requires a strong systems engineering mindset, leadership of the Core Engineering Test Automation team, and proven experience with certification programs

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical, Mechanical, or Systems Engineering is required.
• Master's degree preferred.
• 12+ years of experience in product development and engineering test environments.
• Experience leading DVT, test automation, product validation, and manufacturing test (DFT & EOL).

Responsibilities

• Define and govern enterprise-wide test strategy across development, validation, manufacturing, and certification.
• Own DVT governance, scope, readiness criteria, and exit criteria.
• Lead the Core Engineering Test Automation team and roadmap.
• Collaborate with Manufacturing Engineering on DFT requirements and EOL alignment.
• Coordinate with external certification agencies (UL, IEC, CE) and test houses.
• Establish KPIs and dashboards for test effectiveness, cycle time, and automation maturity.

Skills

Test strategy leadership

DVT & validation

Test automation

Cross-functional leadership

Certification experience

DFT/EOL knowledge

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical/Mechanical/Systems Engineering

Master's degree preferred

Tools

Automation frameworks

Job description

Job Summary

The Director, Test Engineering is responsible for defining, governing, and coordinating Vertiv's Engineering test strategy across product development, validation, manufacturing, and certification activities. This role establishes common testing standards, methodologies, and release requirements, and ensures their consistent implementation across Lines of Business (LoBs) and regions. The position provides technical leadership, standards, and orchestration for testing activities, including Design Verification Testing (DVT), test automation, certification testing, Design for Test (DFT), and coordinates with Advanced Manufacturing Engineering on End-of-Line (EOL) testing. The Director of Test Engineering owns the Core Engineering Test Automation team and serves as the primary Engineering interface to external certification agencies.

Key Responsibilities

Test Strategy & Standards

• Define and maintain enterprise-wide test strategies for NPDI, ETO, and Sustaining Engineering programs.
• Establish common test standards, procedures, and acceptance criteria for:
  • Design Verification Testing (DVT)
  • Reliability and environmental testing (in coordination with Quality and Reliability teams)
  • Automated testing
• Define product release test requirements and ensure alignment with DFMEA, PFMEA, and reliability expectations.
• Drive consistency in test planning, execution, reporting, and traceability across businesses and regions.

Design Verification Testing (DVT) Leadership

• Own the DVT methodology and governance model, including test scope definition, readiness criteria, and exit criteria.
• Coordinate DVT execution across LoBs and regions, ensuring alignment to Vertiv standards.
• Ensure DVT results are effectively correlated with simulation data, historical performance, and field feedback.

Test Automation

• Directly lead the Core Engineering Test Automation team.
• Define and execute the test automation roadmap for product validation and regression testing.
• Drive increased adoption of automation in both engineering validation and manufacturing test environments.
• Promote reuse of automation frameworks, tools, and test assets across product families.

Manufacturing Test Collaboration

• Partner closely with Manufacturing Engineering to:
• Define Design for Test (DFT) requirements early in product development.
• Align engineering test strategies with End-of-Line (EOL) and factory acceptance testing.
• Ensure smooth transition from engineering validation to production test.
• Support continuous improvement of manufacturing test coverage, efficiency, and robustness.

Certification & External Relationships

• Serve as the primary Core Engineering interface to external certification agencies (e.g., UL, IEC, CE).
• Coordinate certification test strategies, scheduling, and technical alignment across LoBs.
• Ensure engineering test plans anticipate and support certification requirements.
• Maintain strong working relationships with third-party test houses and certification partners.

Governance, Metrics & Continuous Improvement

• Establish KPIs and dashboards for test effectiveness, cycle time, coverage, and automation maturity.
• Identify gaps, redundancies, and inefficiencies in current testing approaches and drive corrective actions.
• Support Vertiv Operating System (VOS) initiatives related to quality, speed, and cost.

Scope & Authority

• Global testing standards ownership; no direct ownership of lab facilities or daily lab operations
• Direct management of the Core Engineering Test Automation team
• Influences product release decisions through test readiness and results

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical, Mechanical, or Systems Engineering (required)
• Master's degree preferred
• 12+ years of experience in product development and engineering test environments
• Demonstrated leadership in:
  • Design Verification Testing (DVT)
  • Test automation
  • Product validation and reliability testing
  • Manufacturing test (DFT and EOL)
• Experience working with certification agencies and compliance testing
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional, globally distributed teams without direct line authority
• Data center, power electronics, thermal, or industrial systems experience preferred
• Strong systems-level engineering mindset
• Ability to define standards and drive adoption at scale
• Excellent communication skills in English and stakeholder management skills
• Comfortable operating at both strategic and hands-on technical levels
• Lean / Six Sigma experience a plus

About Us

The successful candidate will embrace Vertiv's Core Principles & Behaviors to help execute our Strategic Priorities.

OUR CORE PRINCIPLES: Safety. Integrity. Respect. Teamwork. Inclusion.

OUR STRATEGIC PRIORITIES

• High-Performance Culture
• Customer Focus
• Operational Excellence
• Innovation
• Financial Strength

VERTIV BEHAVIORS

• Own it
• Act with urgency
• Foster a customer-first mindset
• Think big and execute
• Lead by example
• Drive continuous improvement
• Learn and seek out development
• Promote transparent & open communication

Vertiv (NYSE: VRT) brings together hardware, software, analytics and ongoing services to enable its customers' vital applications to run continuously, perform optimally and grow with their business needs. Vertiv solves the most important challenges facing today's data centers, communication networks, and commercial and industrial facilities with a portfolio of power, cooling and IT infrastructure solutions and services that extend from the cloud to the edge of the network.

Headquartered in Westerville, Ohio, USA, Vertiv employs around 34,000 people and does business in more than 130 countries. Visit Vertiv.com to learn more.

Work Authorization

No calls or agencies please. Vertiv will only employ those who are legally authorized to work in the United States. This is not a position for which sponsorship will be provided. Individuals with temporary visas such as E, F-1, H-1, H-2, L, B, J, or TN or who need sponsorship for work authorization now or in the future, are not eligible for hire.

Equal Opportunity Employer

We promote equal opportunities for all with respect to hiring, terms of employment, mobility, training, compensation, and occupational health, without discrimination as to age, race, color, religion, creed, sex, pregnancy status (including childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions), marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity / expression (including transgender status or sexual stereotypes), genetic information, citizenship status, national origin, protected veteran status, political affiliation, or disability. If you have a disability and are having difficulty accessing or using this website to apply for a position, you can request help by sending an email to [e-mail]