Integrated Test Manager / Test PMO Lead – Warehouse Automation & ASRS

Location: Spartanburg, SC
Work Arrangement: 5 Days Onsite
Employment Type: Contract

Position Overview

We are seeking an experienced Integrated Test Manager / Test PMO Lead to lead the end-to-end testing strategy, governance, execution, and go-live readiness for a large-scale warehouse automation, ASRS, and distribution systems implementation.

The Test Manager will serve as the central point of leadership for testing and operational readiness, coordinating across warehouse operations, engineering, IT, business SMEs, system integrators, automation OEMs, software vendors, and third-party technology partners.

This individual will ensure that integrated technology and automation solutions are thoroughly tested, business processes are validated against real-world operational requirements, and all readiness criteria are met prior to production deployment.

The ideal candidate will have strong experience in Test Management, Test PMO, Program/Project Management, or Release Management, combined with practical knowledge of warehouse automation, ASRS, WMS, WCS, PLC controls, material handling systems, and distribution center operations.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and own the Integrated Test Strategy, including the master test plan, testing methodology, governance model, quality gates, entry/exit criteria, and overall readiness framework.
• Lead the complete testing lifecycle, including Functional Integration Testing (FIT), System Integration Testing (SIT), User Acceptance Testing (UAT), Day-in-the-Life (DIAL), regression, performance testing, cutover, go-live, and hypercare.
• Create and maintain integrated test schedules while managing dependencies across ASRS, conveyors, sortation, automation equipment, WMS, WCS, PLC controls, host systems, interfaces, and supporting technologies.
• Coordinate testing activities across operations, engineering, IT, business teams, system integrators, automation vendors, and technology partners.
• Establish and monitor formal test readiness gates, acceptance criteria, and quality checkpoints, clearly distinguishing equipment commissioning, integrated system testing, business acceptance, and final production acceptance.
• Oversee test preparation, including test scenarios, scripts, test data, environments, regression coverage, business process validation, and operational readiness.
• Lead defect management and governance, including defect triage, prioritization, root-cause analysis, retesting, resolution tracking, escalation, and closure.
• Drive end-to-end integration testing across WMS/WCS, PLC controls, ASRS, conveyors, sortation, inventory management, host systems, interfaces, and warehouse operational workflows.
• Partner with automation and engineering teams to coordinate equipment functionality, throughput/rate, performance, reliability, and availability testing.
• Assess overall go-live and release readiness by validating exit criteria, unresolved risks, contingency plans, rollback strategies, business continuity plans, and required executive approvals.
• Lead cutover planning and execution, including deployment readiness, command center activities, stakeholder communications, issue management, and hypercare stabilization.
• Establish and maintain test PMO governance through test dashboards, RAID logs, defect metrics, execution reports, milestone tracking, readiness assessments, and executive status reporting.
• Provide senior leadership with clear and timely updates on testing progress, risks, dependencies, issues, decisions, and overall production readiness.
• Identify potential testing and deployment risks early and drive appropriate mitigation, escalation, and resolution.

Required Qualifications & Experience

• 8+ years of experience in Test Management, Test PMO, Program/Project Management, Release Management, or a related discipline.
• Demonstrated experience leading large-scale, multi-phase testing programs covering FIT, SIT, UAT, cutover, go-live, and hypercare.
• Strong knowledge of software testing methodologies, test planning and execution, defect management, test reporting, and quality governance.
• Working knowledge of warehouse automation and material handling technologies, including AS/RS, conveyors, sortation, and automated equipment.
• Familiarity with WMS, WCS, PLC controls, host systems, interfaces, and system integration concepts, particularly their interaction with warehouse automation.
• Understanding of distribution center and warehouse operations, with the ability to assess whether test scenarios and acceptance criteria accurately reflect operational requirements.
• Proven experience coordinating multiple vendors, system integrators, technology partners, and cross-functional stakeholder teams.
• Strong background in test governance, stakeholder management, risk and issue management, executive reporting, and PMO processes.
• Experience using JIRA, Confluence, or comparable test management, defect tracking, and collaboration platforms.
• Ability to establish measurable testing gates, acceptance criteria, quality metrics, and go-live readiness criteria across complex integrated environments.
• Excellent communication, leadership, organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to remain actively engaged throughout a long-term implementation, with increased involvement during testing, cutover, go-live, and hypercare periods.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting large-scale Supply Chain, Distribution Center, Warehouse Management, Warehouse Automation, or ASRS implementations.
• Experience with WMS/WCS platforms such as Manhattan, WAMAS, Blue Yonder, SAP EWM, or similar solutions.
• Hands-on or project-level experience with ASRS, conveyors, sortation systems, PLC controls, automated material handling equipment, and warehouse control systems.
• Experience supporting greenfield distribution centers, major warehouse transformations, or complex automation deployments.
• Experience managing integrated testing across system integrators, automation OEMs, software vendors, and warehouse/business operations teams.
• Experience with throughput, rate, performance, availability, reliability, and operational testing within automated warehouse environments.

Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate is a hands-on testing and program leader who can bridge software, automation, engineering, and warehouse operations. They should be comfortable managing complex integrations, driving accountability across multiple vendors, establishing objective readiness criteria, and providing executive-level visibility throughout the testing and go-live lifecycle.

Strong experience in warehouse automation, ASRS, WMS/WCS integration, and large-scale distribution center implementations will be highly valued.