Firmware Quality Engineer (SDET) Location: Beaverton, OR (Onsite)
Duration: 12+ Months Contract Job Summary We are seeking an experienced
Firmware Quality Engineer (SDET) to build the quality infrastructure behind a unique hardware product's firmware, controls, and connected software ecosystem. This role focuses on creating automated systems, tooling, and validation frameworks that enable engineering teams to move quickly while maintaining a high standard for reliability, performance, and release readiness.
The ideal candidate is a builder first someone who enjoys writing code, automating repetitive work, creating scalable test systems, debugging embedded systems, building Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) infrastructure, and partnering with engineering teams to improve product quality throughout the development lifecycle.
This is an onsite role based in
Beaverton OR working within a fast-paced startup-style product development environment.
Team Details: Startup team atmosphere supporting a special hardware innovation project. Candidate will help run testing with connected hardware devices.
Desired Candidate Profile Minimum Required Experience- 5+ years of experience as a Firmware QA Engineer / SDET
Education- Bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of education and experience
Must Have Skills- Experience building QA automation pipelines
- Experience automating firmware testing
- Experience with robotics, mechatronics, embedded systems, wearables, drones, 3D printers, or other connected hardware products
Nice to Have Skills- Hardware system testing
- Ability to triage issues and perform root cause analysis
- Develop and measure quality metrics
- Create qualitative insights from quantitative testing results
- Recommend improvements based on validation findings
Software / Technical Requirements- Python
- CI/CD Pipelines
- Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL)
- Embedded Systems
- Firmware Automation
Previous Industry Experience Who We're Looking For We're seeking a Firmware Quality Engineer (SDET) to build the quality infrastructure behind a unique hardware product s firmware, controls, and connected software ecosystem. This role focuses on creating the automated systems, tooling, and validation frameworks that help engineering teams move quickly while maintaining a high bar for reliability, performance, and release readiness.
The ideal candidate is a builder first. You enjoy writing code, automating repetitive work, and creating scalable test systems that increase confidence across the development lifecycle. You're equally comfortable debugging embedded systems, investigating complex failures, building hardware-in-the-loop infrastructure, and partnering with engineers to improve quality at the source.
You thrive in ambiguity and are energized by creating processes, tools, and workflows where none yet exist. You know that quality is not something that happens at the end of development. It's something that is engineered into every stage of the product lifecycle.
Key Responsibilities- Build and maintain automated validation frameworks for firmware, controls, and connected services
- Develop test infrastructure, tooling, and pipelines that improve release confidence and engineering velocity
- Design and implement Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) and system-level automated test environments
- Create automated regression suites for embedded systems and hardware-software interactions
- Develop internal tools that improve testing efficiency, diagnostics, observability, and engineering productivity
- Investigate complex system failures using logs, telemetry, source code, and hardware debugging techniques
- Perform root cause analysis and work cross-functionally to drive issues through resolution
- Partner with firmware and controls engineers to improve testability, reliability, and quality throughout development
- Define release readiness criteria, quality gates, and validation processes that support frequent firmware releases
- Create clear validation documentation, test plans, quality metrics, and reporting mechanisms
- Establish scalable quality processes capable of supporting future product generations
- Leverage AI tools to accelerate automation, debugging, analysis, and engineering workflows
Who You Will Work With You'll collaborate closely with firmware, controls, software, hardware, QA, product, and program teams responsible for developing the product. You'll partner with engineers across embedded systems, electrical engineering, mobile applications, and cloud services to help establish a culture where quality is built into the product from the start.
You'll also work with external development partners and testing resources to ensure consistent validation approaches across the broader product ecosystem.
Required Qualifications- Bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of education, experience, or training
- 5+ years of experience as an SDET, Firmware Quality Engineer, Embedded Software Engineer, or related role
- Strong programming skills in Python with experience developing production-quality automation tooling
- Experience building automated test frameworks, CI/CD pipelines, and validation infrastructure
- Experience validating embedded systems, robotics, mechatronics products, wearables, or connected devices
- Strong understanding of firmware development workflows, source control, code reviews, CI systems, and release processes
- Experience investigating complex system behavior using logs, telemetry, debugging tools, and root cause analysis
- Experience creating test strategies, validation plans, and release qualification processes
- Excellent written communication and documentation skills
- Builder mindset with the ability to create new tools and processes in ambiguous environments
- Highly self-motivated and comfortable working in startup-style product development environments
- Comfortable collaborating across firmware, controls, hardware, backend, and QA disciplines
Preferred Qualifications- Robotics, exoskeletons, autonomous systems, industrial automation, or mechatronics
- Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) testing environments
- Sensor fusion, control systems, motion systems, or real-time software
- BLE communication, mobile device interactions, and OTA firmware updates
- Experience with GitHub Actions, Jenkins, or similar CI/CD platforms
- MATLAB, CAN tools, embedded diagnostics, or hardware debugging tools
- Startup, RCD, incubation, or 0 1 product development environments
- Experience using modern AI-enabled engineering workflows and tools