Tobias Schmidt Test Strategy · V&V · Quality Assurance

Profile

More than 15 years in test strategy, V&V and test governance for safety-critical embedded and mechatronic programs: from series ECUs through to enterprise-wide V&V governance across 1,000+ engineers. For confidentiality reasons the end customers are anonymized; roles, periods and results are real.

Professional experience

07/2026 – present

Freelancer / Interim V&V Lead: Test Strategy, V&V & Test Governance

Independent consulting · Remote / Hybrid · DACH + EU

  • Freelance consulting and interim mandates for test strategy, V&V governance and quality assurance in complex embedded, mechatronic and safety-critical development programs.
  • Core services: stabilizing critical programs, improving test effectiveness & cost of quality, test strategy assessment, building test strategy & V&V governance, and interim test management & quality assurance.
  • Data-based release decisions instead of gut feel: release readiness, quality gates and risk transparency across software, electronics and systems engineering.

02/2025 – 06/2026

Enterprise V&V Strategy & Test Governance Lead

Marquardt GmbH

  • Initiated, designed and built enterprise V&V governance for a global R&D organization with 1,000+ engineers within 12 months (load-bearing structure in 3–4 months). Presented the strategy at executive and director level and established a multi-level governance structure: director-level product owner team, cross-functional delivery team, international test manager community and a test team leads alliance across 5 sites (DE / IN / RO / CN / TN).
  • Established agile ways of working (Scrum / Kanban) across the entire governance structure; developed teams without prior agile experience toward continuous learning and shared ownership.
  • Defined the first enterprise test strategy, test policy and quality gate logic as a binding standard; piloted the rollout in critical programs and coached all test managers.
  • Designed a KPI and metrics framework for data-based release decisions. Productive pilot in two critical programs.
  • Dissolved engineering silos in defect management: a shared defect lifecycle across validation, SW, electronics, mechanics and systems engineering; a defect committee as the binding authority.
  • Moved a critical premium OEM program (vehicle access & authorization, 50+ engineers across 4 sites) into risk-based validation within 5 months. No escalations, stable 12 months after handover.

11/2021 – 02/2025

Embedded Systems Test Manager

Marquardt GmbH

  • Test management in an ASIL-D program for a premium OEM electrical platform (3 projects, 100+ project members); leading 8 teams / 50+ engineers across the full breadth of the V-model. Aligned with ISO 26262 (up to ASIL-D), ISO/SAE 21434 and ISO 29119.
  • Turnaround from a critical pre-SOP phase: made the status transparent and, through KPI-based management, guided the program into the series SOP of a fully electric premium SUV.
  • Built the complete test pyramid (unit and SW integration tests) during a running ASIL-D program. Neither test level had been established before.
  • Halved test effort from 6 to 3 weeks before series release through structured risk analysis, without losing safety-relevant coverage.
  • Test case migration to an entirely new successor system architecture; deliberately platform-oriented rather than project-oriented test strategy as an efficiency lever.

05/2021 – 10/2021

Embedded Software Consultant

QCENTRIS GmbH

  • Expanded the test automation and tooling portfolio: certified Tosca Automation Specialist I + II; Selenium / BDD / XRay in a web test project; deepened machine learning with Python.

04/2020 – 05/2021

Embedded Systems Test Manager · Charging Unit

MicroFuzzy GmbH

  • V&V ownership for an ASIL-D charging unit of a premium OEM electric model family: end to end across SW, integration and system test; series SOP without complaints, no customer escalations.
  • Defined the master test concept according to ISO 29119 and ISO 26262 (up to ASIL-D): systematic closure of validation gaps across all test levels.
  • International test team coordination as well as the build-up of reporting and metrics structures for project management, quality and the customer side.

04/2019 – 04/2020

Embedded Software Safety Manager (ISO 26262)

MicroFuzzy GmbH

  • Software safety management according to ISO 26262 in a power electronics program for a premium OEM: accountable for the software safety plan, safety requirements and safety case.
  • Review of SW processes and work products against ISO 26262; contribution to process definition across all relevant process steps.

05/2017 – 03/2019

Embedded Software Test Manager · Driver Assistance

Bertrandt AG

  • Test management in an ASIL-B program for driver assistance systems of a premium OEM (100+ project members): aligned 10 Scrum teams on a shared SW test strategy (IEEE 829, ISO 26262).
  • Stabilized quality metrics from an initially critical position: tightened quality gates across several release cycles; series delivery in ASIL-B quality without complaints.

04/2016 – 05/2017

Embedded Systems Test Manager · ECU

Bertrandt AG

  • Turnaround of an ASIL-D ECU (electronic steering column lock) for a premium OEM (50+ project members) in a critical phase: created transparency, set up a plan, series SOP one year after taking over.
  • Led 5 test teams across all test levels (SW module, SW integration, HW/SW integration, hardware, system test); a cross-level concept according to IEEE 829 and ISO 26262 (up to ASIL-D).

01/2013 – 03/2016

Embedded Systems Test Manager · E/E System Validation

MicroFuzzy GmbH

  • Validation of E/E system functions across multiple ECUs of a premium OEM: scope extended from a single powertrain ECU to safeguarding all powertrain ECUs across the model ranges and vehicle platforms current at the time; designed the test infrastructure from equipment specification through to reporting.
  • Built and scaled an offshore test team from 1 to 7 people: established international delivery capability across two continents.

08/2010 – 12/2012

Embedded Software Developer · Drive Control Unit

Innovative Software Technologie GmbH

  • Development of an ASIL-B component of a drive control unit for a premium OEM electric model range. Series introduction with no identified complaints; the basis: rigorous unit testing with close to 100 % MC/DC coverage (ISO 26262).
  • Transition into the SW architecture role: identified existing interfaces as not ASIL-B capable and designed the complete architecture for the ASIL components; on that basis, automatic generation of ASIL-D capable code.

Methods, standards & tools

Test strategy & governance

Management
V&V, test governance, release governance, quality gates, KPI-based management, risk-based validation
Quality
Defect management, release readiness, test metrics, test analysis, test reporting

Test levels & safety

Test levels & types
SW module, integration, HW/SW integration, system, verification, validation, regression and acceptance testing; HiL, SIL, MIL; BDD, reviews, MC/DC
Functional safety
Safety plan, safety requirements, safety case according to ISO 26262 (up to ASIL-D); SW architecture for ASIL components; cybersecurity according to ISO/SAE 21434

Tools & collaboration

Daily drivers
Jira, Codebeamer, DOORS / DOORS NG, Git, Python, ECU-TEST, CANoe
Wider toolset
Jenkins, Reqtify, HP ALM, Selenium, GoogleTest, VectorCAST, Tosca, CANape, dSPACE ControlDesk, Polyspace
Leadership
Technical leadership of internationally distributed test organizations (DE / IN / RO / CN / TN / TH), stakeholder management up to director level, Scrum, Kanban, agile coaching

Certifications & education

ISTQB Advanced Level – Test Manager ISTQB Foundation Level ISO 26262 – Advanced Competence Agile Master Tosca Automation Specialist L1 & L2 Dipl.-Inform. (FH), Computer Engineering (MSc equivalent) German and English

Intro call

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