Head of Test & Evaluation

About Swiftstrike

Swiftstrike is a Swedish defence-technology company. We build hardware and the AI software that runs it, from edge to command. Our products are developed with experienced operators and refined through real-world field testing, and everything we build is designed to be cost-effective at scale and priced for fielding in numbers.

The role

Our systems make decisions with real consequences. Proving they work, and holding the line on quality, matters as much as building them. As Head of Test & Evaluation, you will own how Swiftstrike tests, evaluates, and assures the quality of everything we field: the hardware, the software, and the integrated system. You will set the standards, build the team and infrastructure that enforce them, and give the company an independent, evidence-based view of whether a system is ready.

The same software stack runs in our fielded systems and in our simulation environment, and you will build test and evaluation that spans both: hardware-in-the-loop rigs and automated regression in the lab, digital-twin scenarios in simulation, environmental and qualification testing, and live trials in the field.

You will define what "good enough to field" means at Swiftstrike, then build the discipline that holds us to it.

What you'll do

• Own the test, evaluation, and quality-assurance strategy for the whole product line, from component level to full-system field acceptance.
• Set the quality bar and the definition of "done" for hardware and software, and give leadership a clear, independent read on system readiness and risk.
• Build and lead a team of test and evaluation engineers, and grow the tooling, rigs, and processes they work with.
• Own verification and validation across the hardware and the perception and autonomy software that runs on it.
• Stand up hardware-in-the-loop rigs, automated test pipelines in continuous integration (CI), and simulation and digital-twin validation.
• Plan and run environmental and qualification testing, such as thermal, vibration, ingress, and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC), with partners and labs.
• Plan and lead field trials with operators, and turn what you observe into reproducible test cases.
• Own quality management, test documentation, and traceability for customer acceptance and qualification.

What we're looking for

• Deep experience in test, evaluation, verification, validation, or quality assurance of complex systems, ideally embedded, robotic, or mechatronic.
• A track record of building and leading test or quality teams, and of setting standards that others follow.
• Fluency across both hardware and software testing: hardware-in-the-loop, environmental and qualification testing, and automated software regression.
• The judgment and the standing to own quality as an independent discipline, and to say clearly when something is not ready.
• Familiarity with multi-modal sensor systems, such as electro-optical, RF, or acoustic, and what makes them hard to test.
• Rigour about coverage, traceability, and quality management, with realism about field conditions: mud, cold, and time pressure.
• Willingness to travel for field trials.
• Professional fluency in English.

Nice to have

• Experience standing up a test, evaluation, or quality capability from scratch.
• Test and evaluation of defence or aerospace systems, and work under qualification standards (e.g. MIL-STD environmental test methods).
• Simulation-based validation of autonomy or perception software.
• A background from the armed forces or from defence procurement.
• Swedish language skills.

What we offer

• The systems you assure protect people on the modern battlefield.
• Ownership of an entire discipline. You define how a defence-technology company tests, evaluates, and assures quality, from day one.
• A mandate to hold the quality bar, with leadership behind it.
• The same stack runs in simulation and in the field, so your findings close the loop quickly.
• A lab-equipped office in Stockholm, plus time in the field with the systems.
• Competitive compensation, including equity options, so you share in what we build.