diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index bbeca65..c5697d4 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -129,4 +129,7 @@ dmypy.json
 .pyre/
 
 # macOS
-.DS_Store
\ No newline at end of file
+.DS_Store
+
+# Poetry
+poetry.lock
diff --git a/.vscode/settings.json b/.vscode/settings.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9b38853
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.vscode/settings.json
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+{
+    "python.testing.pytestArgs": [
+        "tests"
+    ],
+    "python.testing.unittestEnabled": false,
+    "python.testing.pytestEnabled": true
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index d0ef8d5..e869716 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -78,3 +78,10 @@ The staging process will also output a summary CSV file with one row for each ti
 - If the deduplication method specified in the configuration is `footprints`, the footprint file(s) are provided with a structure that follows the [docs](https://github.com/PermafrostDiscoveryGateway/viz-staging/blob/main/docs/footprints.md).
 - In order for logging to work properly, the node running the script that uses this package has a `/tmp` directory so the `log.log` file can populate there.
 
+## Development
+
+Build and test using poetry and pytest.
+
+- To build, run `poetry build`
+- To test, run `pytest` from the root of the package directory
+- VS Code configuration is setup to configure tests as well
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..60d2432
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+[tool.poetry]
+name = "pdgstaging"
+version = "0.9.1"
+description = "Geospatial data tiling workflow"
+authors = [
+    "Robyn Thiessen-Bock <thiessenbock@nceas.ucsb.edu>",
+    "Juliet Cohen <jcohen@nceas.ucsb.edu>",
+    "Lauren Walker <walker@nceas.ucsb.edu>",
+    "Matthew B. Jones <jones@nceas.ucsb.edu>",
+]
+license = 'Apache Software License 2.0'
+readme = "README.md"
+repository = 'https://github.com/PermafrostDiscoveryGateway/viz-staging'
+classifiers=[
+    'Development Status :: 2 - Pre-Alpha',
+    'Intended Audience :: Developers',
+    'License :: OSI Approved :: Apache Software License',
+    'Natural Language :: English',
+    'Programming Language :: Python :: 3',
+    'Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9',
+]
+
+[tool.poetry.dependencies]
+python = ">=3.9"
+numpy = ">=1.2"
+pandas = ">=1.4, < 2.0"
+shapely = ">= 2, < 3.0"
+geopandas = ">= 0.12.2, < 1.0"
+morecantile = ">= 3.1, < 4.0"
+Rtree = ">= 0.9, < 1.0"
+filelock = ">= 3.6, < 4.0"
+coloraide = ">= 0.10, < 1"
+colormaps = "== 0.4.0"
+
+[tool.poetry.group.dev.dependencies]
+pytest = ">=7"
+
+[build-system]
+requires = ["poetry-core"]
+build-backend = "poetry.core.masonry.api"
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
deleted file mode 100644
index 02a9381..0000000
--- a/setup.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,37 +0,0 @@
-from setuptools import setup
-
-with open('README.md', 'r') as fh:
-    long_description = fh.read()
-
-setup(
-    author='Robyn Thiessen-Bock, Juliet Cohen',
-    author_email='thiessenbock@nceas.ucsb.edu, jcohen@nceas.ucsb.edu',
-    name='pdgstaging',
-    version='0.9.0',
-    description='PDG Visualization staging pipeline',
-    long_description=long_description,
-    long_description_content_type='text/markdown',
-    url='https://github.com/PermafrostDiscoveryGateway/viz-staging',
-    packages=['pdgstaging'],
-    install_requires=[
-        'numpy >= 1.2, < 2.0',
-        'pandas >= 1.4, < 2.0',
-        'shapely >= 2, < 3.0',
-        'geopandas >= 0.12.2, < 1.0',
-        'morecantile >= 3.1, < 4.0',
-        'Rtree >= 0.9, < 1.0',
-        'filelock >= 3.6, < 4.0',
-        'coloraide >= 0.10, < 1',
-        'colormaps == 0.4.0'
-    ],
-    python_requires='>=3.9, <4.0',
-    classifiers=[
-        'Development Status :: 2 - Pre-Alpha',
-        'Intended Audience :: Developers',
-        'License :: OSI Approved :: Apache Software License',
-        'Natural Language :: English',
-        'Programming Language :: Python :: 3',
-        'Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9',
-    ],
-    license='Apache Software License 2.0',
-)
diff --git a/tests/test_loaddata.py b/tests/test_loaddata.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..986b9e2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_loaddata.py
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+from pandas import DataFrame
+
+def test_init():
+    """Initialize tests and show they are working.
+    """
+    assert 1 == 1
+    
+def test_load_data():
+    """Load example testing data for staging tests.
+    """
+    df = DataFrame( dict( x=[1,2,3], y=[4,5,6] ) )
+    assert df is not None