Principal Test Architect – Industrial Automation & SCADA

About the role

AVEVA is seeking a Principal Test Architect to lead testing for its Industrial Automation & SCADA portfolio. Based in Lake Forest, CA, the role combines hands‑on testing of real‑time automation software with strategic test planning across visualization, alarm, historization and device integration components.

Key responsibilities

• Own end‑to‑end test strategy and execution for the SCADA product stack (visualization, alarm subsystem, historization, device integration).
• Design, plan and run scalability, performance, load and endurance tests for real‑time automation products.
• Validate new features across driver frameworks and platform components; reproduce, isolate and triage customer‑reported issues.
• Develop and execute end‑to‑end validation against industrial protocols such as OPC UA, MQTT (Sparkplug, JSON), Allen‑Bradley CIP, Siemens S7/S7‑SiDirect, OMRON, CODESYS.
• Set up test labs with real PLCs, IoT gateways and simulators to mirror customer deployments.
• Build and evolve automated test frameworks, contributing Python scripts for test automation, data generation and log analysis.
• Apply AI‑based tools to improve test authoring, execution triage, failure analysis and coverage.
• Use debugging tools like Wireshark, Debug Diag and Perfmon to diagnose performance and reliability issues.
• Collaborate with distributed engineering, support and customer teams and mentor junior test engineers.

Required profile

• Minimum 12 years of hands‑on product testing experience in real‑time industrial automation.
• Strong understanding of SCADA architectures and industrial communication protocols.
• Proven ability to design and execute large‑scale performance and reliability tests.
• Experience working with hardware such as PLCs, IoT devices and gateways.
• Demonstrated leadership in test strategy and mentorship of test teams.
• Excellent problem‑solving skills and ability to work across global, cross‑functional teams.

Required skills

• Python programming for test automation.
• AI tools for test optimization.
• Wireshark, Debug Diag, Perfmon.
• OPC UA, MQTT (Sparkplug, JSON).
• Allen‑Bradley CIP (ABCIP).
• Siemens S7 / S7‑SiDirect.
• OMRON, CODESYS.
• PLCs, IoT gateways and simulators.

What we offer

• Competitive salary range $130,500 – $217,700 USD per year.
• Hybrid work model (on‑site and remote).
• Opportunity to shape testing strategy for industry‑leading SCADA solutions.
• Access to cutting‑edge automation technologies and AI‑driven testing tools.
• Collaborative environment with global engineering and support teams.