Automotive QA tester

Role: Software QA/Test Engineer
Location: Palo Alto, CA
Duration: Long Term Contract

Responsibilities:

• Validate the functionality and stability of Phone Projection (Apple CarPlay, Android Auto), multimedia, and connectivity features for infotainment software.
• Perform deep-dive troubleshooting on test failures, utilizing system logs and tools to isolate the root cause before reporting.
• Manage and maintain the test bench environment, ensuring software and hardware are correctly set up for testing.

Requirements:

• Experience creating test plans for code changes, including smoke test, targeted regression, and testing high-risk areas such as state changes, platform upgrades, and power cycles.
• Ability to apply a white-box testing mindset, designing tests that leverage knowledge of internal components (services, APIs, middleware) rather than relying solely on black box validation.
• Experience validating complex "system-of-systems" products, such as consumer electronics, mobile devices, or robotics; this background is highly relevant and not limited to automotive.
• Capability to triage issues and write bug reports with analysis that developers can act on immediately, including reproduction steps, clear expected vs. actual behavior, and precise evidence like timestamps and key log excerpts.
• Hands-on hardware/software integration experience, including bench bring-up, flashing, and end-to-end feature validation across HW/SW boundaries.
• Working knowledge of Linux (CLI, logs/journalctl, networking, permissions, scripting) for debugging, automation, and test execution.
• Experience with Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) testing, including setup/configuration, signal simulation, test execution, and result analysis.
• Python automation skills (strong plus): building test utilities, log parsing/triage scripts.
• Must be onsite in Palo Alto.