Hardware Test & Prototype Technician

What You'll Do 

• Assemble, integrate, rework, and maintain Dropbox prototypes and test articles.
• Build mechanical and electromechanical assemblies containing structures, mechanisms, motors, transmissions, sensors, PCBAs, harnesses, connectors, and seals.
• Interpret engineering drawings, CAD views, bills of materials, wiring diagrams, assembly instructions, and test procedures.
• Provide practical feedback when designs, drawings, tolerances, fastener access, cable routing, or assembly sequences are unclear or difficult to execute.
• Fabricate and modify prototype components, brackets, fixtures, guards, and test equipment using appropriate shop tools and processes.
• Perform mechanical assembly using torque tools, adhesives, thread-locking compounds, bearings, belts, fasteners, seals, and alignment features.
• Build, route, terminate, and troubleshoot wiring harnesses and electromechanical connections.
• Instrument test articles using load cells, force and torque sensors, thermocouples, displacement sensors, cameras, current sensors, and data-acquisition equipment.
• Build and maintain automated cycle testers, environmental setups, representative packages, abuse-test fixtures, and other development equipment.
• Execute component, subsystem, and system-level tests following approved procedures and safety requirements.
• Support functional, lifetime, environmental, ingress, wear, misuse, obstruction, package-variation, and fault-recovery testing.
• Monitor tests, identify abnormal behavior, stop testing when unsafe or invalid conditions occur, and escalate issues promptly.
• Record test configuration, asset serial numbers, firmware versions, environmental conditions, observations, failures, and results accurately.
• Capture photographs, videos, measurements, logs, and physical evidence needed for failure investigation.
• Assist engineers with teardown, inspection, dimensional measurement, and root-cause investigations.
• Distinguish likely product failures from fixture, instrumentation, setup, software, or operator problems.
• Reproduce field failures in the lab and verify whether corrective actions prevent recurrence.
• Maintain test assets, tools, fixtures, instrumentation, spare parts, and work areas in a safe and organized condition.
• Track equipment calibration, maintenance, repairs, and configuration so test results remain trustworthy and reproducible.
• Support engineering builds, design-validation builds, pilot production, and manufacturing troubleshooting.
• Prepare prototype hardware, tools, spares, documentation, and equipment for work at remote test or deployment sites.
• Support installation, configuration, commissioning, testing, maintenance, and recovery of prototype Dropbox systems at Half Moon Bay, Sacramento, and other locations.
• Work safely with engineers and Deployment teams around heavy assemblies, powered mechanisms, vehicles, aircraft operations, construction activity, and outdoor test environments.
• Provide clear feedback from builds and field deployments so designs and procedures become easier, safer, and more repeatable.
• Help improve prototype-build instructions, test procedures, deployment checklists, and troubleshooting guides.
• Train other technicians and engineers on equipment or procedures in which you have developed expertise.

What You'll Bring

• Hands-on experience assembling, testing, repairing, or maintaining mechanical or electromechanical hardware.
• Ability to interpret mechanical drawings, assembly documentation, wiring diagrams, and test procedures.
• Experience using common hand tools, power tools, torque tools, measurement equipment, and shop equipment safely.
• Familiarity with mechanisms, bearings, belts, fasteners, actuators, motors, sensors, connectors, and wiring harnesses.
• Experience using measurement tools such as calipers, micrometers, torque instruments, multimeters, and data-acquisition equipment.
• Ability to build clean, reliable prototype hardware even when designs or instructions are still evolving.
• Experience instrumenting test articles and collecting accurate, traceable test data.
• Strong mechanical troubleshooting skills and a methodical approach to isolating problems.
• Discipline in documenting build configuration, deviations, test conditions, observations, and failures.
• Ability to communicate clearly with engineers about build problems, unexpected behavior, risks, and potential improvements.
• Comfort working independently after the objective, procedure, and safety boundaries are established.
• Commitment to maintaining a safe, organized, and effective laboratory and shop environment.
• Technical certificate, associate degree, apprenticeship, military technical experience, or equivalent hands-on experience is valued.
• Experience with robotics, industrial automation, automotive systems, aerospace hardware, appliances, material-handling equipment, or outdoor machinery is helpful.
• Experience with basic machining, sheet-metal fabrication, soldering, crimping, harness fabrication, or environmental testing is helpful.
• Location and logistics: this role is in person in South San Francisco and requires some travel to Half Moon Bay, Sacramento, and other test or deployment locations.
• Operating conditions: field assignments may involve outdoor work, uneven surfaces, changing weather, and occasional overnight travel.
• Physical requirements: able to safely handle tools, test equipment, and hardware and participate in team lifts in accordance with established safety procedures.
• Traits: practical judgment, mechanical curiosity, attention to detail, comfort with changing prototypes, and willingness to stay with a problem until the hardware is working or the failure is understood.

What Success Looks Like

• Prototype hardware is assembled safely, correctly, and quickly enough to support development schedules.
• Tests produce complete, reproducible, and trustworthy evidence.
• Build and test problems are identified early and communicated before they create schedule delays or invalid results.
• Test equipment remains reliable, calibrated, documented, and available.
• Prototype deployments are prepared and executed with the necessary hardware, tools, spares, and documentation.
• Engineering teams receive clear observations and physical evidence that accelerate root-cause investigations and design improvements.
• Build instructions, test procedures, and deployment workflows become safer and more repeatable through your feedback.