diff --git a/cmd/util.go b/cmd/util.go
deleted file mode 100644
index fd041e0..0000000
--- a/cmd/util.go
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,92 +0,0 @@
-/**
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * You may obtain a copy of the License at
- *
- *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- *
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
- */
-
-package cmd
-
-import (
-	"bytes"
-	"encoding/json"
-	"fmt"
-	"time"
-
-	"github.com/aurora-scheduler/gorealis/v2/gen-go/apache/aurora"
-	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
-	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
-)
-
-type monitorCmdConfig struct {
-	cmd                             *cobra.Command
-	monitorInterval, monitorTimeout time.Duration
-	statusList                      []string
-}
-
-func toJSON(v interface{}) string {
-
-	output, err := json.Marshal(v)
-
-	if err != nil {
-		log.Fatalln("Unable to serialize Aurora response: %+v", v)
-	}
-
-	return string(output)
-}
-
-func getLoggingLevels() string {
-
-	var buffer bytes.Buffer
-
-	for _, level := range logrus.AllLevels {
-		buffer.WriteString(level.String())
-		buffer.WriteString(" ")
-	}
-
-	buffer.Truncate(buffer.Len() - 1)
-
-	return buffer.String()
-
-}
-
-func maintenanceMonitorPrint(hostResult map[string]bool, desiredStates []aurora.MaintenanceMode) {
-	if len(hostResult) > 0 {
-		// Create anonymous struct for JSON formatting
-		output := struct {
-			DesiredStates   []string `json:desired_states`
-			Transitioned    []string `json:transitioned`
-			NonTransitioned []string `json:non-transitioned`
-		}{
-			make([]string, 0),
-			make([]string, 0),
-			make([]string, 0),
-		}
-
-		for _, state := range desiredStates {
-			output.DesiredStates = append(output.DesiredStates, state.String())
-		}
-
-		for host, ok := range hostResult {
-			if ok {
-				output.Transitioned = append(output.Transitioned, host)
-			} else {
-				output.NonTransitioned = append(output.NonTransitioned, host)
-			}
-		}
-
-		if toJson {
-			fmt.Println(toJSON(output))
-		} else {
-			fmt.Printf("Entered %v status: %v\n", output.DesiredStates, output.Transitioned)
-			fmt.Printf("Did not enter %v status: %v\n", output.DesiredStates, output.NonTransitioned)
-		}
-	}
-}
diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index a608f6f..ffd3e03 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ require (
 	github.com/spf13/pflag v1.0.5
 	github.com/spf13/viper v1.6.3
 	github.com/stretchr/objx v0.1.1 // indirect
+	github.com/stretchr/testify v1.5.0
 	gopkg.in/yaml.v2 v2.2.8
 )
 
diff --git a/internal/types.go b/internal/types.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6c77dff
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/types.go
@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
+package internal
+
+import (
+	"time"
+)
+
+type URI struct {
+	URI     string `yaml:"uri"`
+	Extract bool   `yaml:"extract"`
+	Cache   bool   `yaml:"cache"`
+}
+
+type Executor struct {
+	Name string `yaml:"name"`
+	Data string `yaml:"data"`
+}
+
+type ThermosProcess struct {
+	Name string `yaml:"name"`
+	Cmd  string `yaml:"cmd"`
+}
+
+type DockerContainer struct {
+	Name string `yaml:"name"`
+	Tag  string `yaml:"tag"`
+}
+
+type Container struct {
+	Docker *DockerContainer `yaml:"docker"`
+}
+
+type Job struct {
+	Environment string            `yaml:"environment"`
+	Role        string            `yaml:"role"`
+	Name        string            `yaml:"name"`
+	CPU         float64           `yaml:"cpu"`
+	RAM         int64             `yaml:"ram"`
+	Disk        int64             `yaml:"disk"`
+	Executor    Executor          `yaml:"executor"`
+	Instances   int32             `yaml:"instances"`
+	URIs        []URI             `yaml:"uris"`
+	Metadata    map[string]string `yaml:"labels"`
+	Service     bool              `yaml:"service"`
+	Thermos     []ThermosProcess  `yaml:",flow,omitempty"`
+	Container   *Container        `yaml:"container,omitempty"`
+}
+type InstanceRange struct {
+	Start int `yaml:"start"`
+	End   int `yaml:"end"`
+}
+
+type VariableBatchStrategy struct {
+	GroupSizes []int `yaml:"groupSizes"`
+	AutoPause  bool  `yaml:"autoPause"`
+}
+
+type BatchStrategy struct {
+	GroupSize int  `yaml:"groupSize"`
+	AutoPause bool `yaml:"autoPause"`
+}
+
+type QueueStrategy struct {
+	GroupSize int `yaml:"groupSize"`
+}
+
+type UpdateStrategy struct {
+	VariableBatch *VariableBatchStrategy `yaml:"variableBatch"`
+	Batch         *BatchStrategy         `yaml:"batch"`
+	Queue         *QueueStrategy         `yaml:"queue"`
+}
+type UpdateSettings struct {
+	MaxPerInstanceFailures int             `yaml:"maxPerInstanceFailures"`
+	MaxFailedInstances     int             `yaml:"maxFailedInstances"`
+	MinTimeInRunning       time.Duration   `yaml:"minTimeRunning"`
+	RollbackOnFailure      bool            `yaml:"rollbackOnFailure"`
+	InstanceRanges         []InstanceRange `yaml:"instanceRanges"`
+	BlockIfNoPulseAfter    time.Duration   `yaml:"blockIfNoPulseAfter"`
+	SLAAware               bool            `yaml:"slaAware"`
+	Strategy               UpdateStrategy  `yaml:"strategy"`
+}
+
+type UpdateJob struct {
+	JobConfig      Job            `yaml:"jobConfig"`
+	UpdateSettings UpdateSettings `yaml:"updateSettings"`
+}
diff --git a/internal/util.go b/internal/util.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9a95be8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/util.go
@@ -0,0 +1,193 @@
+/**
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package internal
+
+import (
+	"bytes"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"fmt"
+	"os"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/aurora-scheduler/gorealis/v2/gen-go/apache/aurora"
+	"github.com/pkg/errors"
+	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
+	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
+	yaml "gopkg.in/yaml.v2"
+)
+
+type MonitorCmdConfig struct {
+	cmd                             *cobra.Command
+	monitorInterval, monitorTimeout time.Duration
+	statusList                      []string
+}
+
+func toJSON(v interface{}) string {
+
+	output, err := json.Marshal(v)
+
+	if err != nil {
+		log.Fatalf("Unable to serialize Aurora response: %+v", v)
+	}
+
+	return string(output)
+}
+
+func getLoggingLevels() string {
+
+	var buffer bytes.Buffer
+
+	for _, level := range logrus.AllLevels {
+		buffer.WriteString(level.String())
+		buffer.WriteString(" ")
+	}
+
+	buffer.Truncate(buffer.Len() - 1)
+
+	return buffer.String()
+
+}
+
+func maintenanceMonitorPrint(hostResult map[string]bool, desiredStates []aurora.MaintenanceMode) {
+	if len(hostResult) > 0 {
+		// Create anonymous struct for JSON formatting
+		output := struct {
+			DesiredStates   []string `json:desired_states`
+			Transitioned    []string `json:transitioned`
+			NonTransitioned []string `json:non-transitioned`
+		}{
+			make([]string, 0),
+			make([]string, 0),
+			make([]string, 0),
+		}
+
+		for _, state := range desiredStates {
+			output.DesiredStates = append(output.DesiredStates, state.String())
+		}
+
+		for host, ok := range hostResult {
+			if ok {
+				output.Transitioned = append(output.Transitioned, host)
+			} else {
+				output.NonTransitioned = append(output.NonTransitioned, host)
+			}
+		}
+
+		if toJson {
+			fmt.Println(toJSON(output))
+		} else {
+			fmt.Printf("Entered %v status: %v\n", output.DesiredStates, output.Transitioned)
+			fmt.Printf("Did not enter %v status: %v\n", output.DesiredStates, output.NonTransitioned)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func UnmarshalJob(filename string) (Job, error) {
+
+	job := Job{}
+
+	if jobsFile, err := os.Open(filename); err != nil {
+		return job, errors.Wrap(err, "unable to read the job config file")
+	} else {
+		if err := yaml.NewDecoder(jobsFile).Decode(&job); err != nil {
+			return job, errors.Wrap(err, "unable to parse job config file")
+		}
+
+		if !job.Validate() {
+			return job, errors.New("invalid job config")
+		}
+	}
+
+	return job, nil
+}
+
+func (j *Job) Validate() bool {
+	if j.Name == "" {
+		return false
+	}
+
+	if j.Role == "" {
+		return false
+	}
+
+	if j.Environment == "" {
+		return false
+	}
+
+	if j.Instances <= 0 {
+		return false
+	}
+
+	if j.CPU <= 0.0 {
+		return false
+	}
+
+	if j.RAM <= 0 {
+		return false
+	}
+
+	if j.Disk <= 0 {
+		return false
+	}
+
+	return true
+}
+
+func UnmarshalUpdate(filename string) (UpdateJob, error) {
+
+	updateJob := UpdateJob{}
+
+	if jobsFile, err := os.Open(filename); err != nil {
+		return updateJob, errors.Wrap(err, "unable to read the job config file")
+	} else {
+		if err := yaml.NewDecoder(jobsFile).Decode(&updateJob); err != nil {
+			return updateJob, errors.Wrap(err, "unable to parse job config file")
+		}
+
+		if !updateJob.JobConfig.Validate() {
+			return updateJob, errors.New("invalid job config")
+		}
+		if err := updateJob.UpdateSettings.Validate(); err != nil {
+			return updateJob, errors.Wrap(err, "invalid update configuration")
+		}
+	}
+
+	return updateJob, nil
+}
+
+func (u *UpdateSettings) Validate() error {
+	if u.Strategy.VariableBatch != nil {
+		if len(u.Strategy.VariableBatch.GroupSizes) == 0 {
+			return errors.New("variable batch strategy must specify at least one batch size")
+		}
+		for _, batch := range u.Strategy.VariableBatch.GroupSizes {
+			if batch <= 0 {
+				return errors.New("all groups in a variable batch strategy must be larger than 0")
+			}
+		}
+	} else if u.Strategy.Batch != nil {
+		if u.Strategy.Batch.GroupSize <= 0 {
+			return errors.New("batch strategy must specify a group larger than 0")
+		}
+	} else if u.Strategy.Queue != nil {
+		if u.Strategy.Queue.GroupSize <= 0 {
+			return errors.New("queue strategy must specify a group larger than 0")
+		}
+	} else {
+		log.Info("No strategy set, falling back on queue strategy with a group size 1")
+		u.Strategy.Queue = &QueueStrategy{GroupSize: 1}
+	}
+	return nil
+}
diff --git a/internal/util_test.go b/internal/util_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5610431
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/util_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+package internal
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+)
+
+func TestUnmarshalJob(t *testing.T) {
+	_, err := UnmarshalJob("../test/hello_world.yaml")
+	assert.NoError(t, err)
+}
+
+func TestUnmarshalUpdate(t *testing.T) {
+	_, err := UnmarshalUpdate("../test/update_hello_world.yaml")
+	assert.NoError(t, err)
+}
+
diff --git a/hello_world.yaml b/test/hello_world.yaml
similarity index 51%
rename from hello_world.yaml
rename to test/hello_world.yaml
index 35a76d8..1e04c24 100644
--- a/hello_world.yaml
+++ b/test/hello_world.yaml
@@ -11,3 +11,16 @@ thermos:
     cmd: "echo bootstrapping"
   - name: "hello_gorealis"
     cmd: "while true; do echo hello world from gorealis; sleep 10; done"
+updateSettings:
+  maxPerInstanceFailures: 1
+  maxFailedInstances: 1
+  minTimeInRunning: 1m
+  rollbackOnFailure: true
+  instanceRanges:
+    - start: 1
+      end: 4
+  blockIfNoPulseAfter: 1m
+  slaAware: false
+  strategy:
+    name: Batch
+    groupSize: 2
\ No newline at end of file