Hardware Test and Validation Engineer

DigiStor • Austin, TX

2d

About The Position

DigiStor is seeking a practical hardware engineer to validate its secure data-at-rest storage products in PCs, client systems, workstations, and servers. The role centers on hardware integration and system behavior: building test configurations, investigating compatibility and connectivity issues, and producing clear reports for product qualification and customer troubleshooting.

The engineer will work hands-on with physical hardware and isolate issues across platforms, storage devices, adapters, enclosures, drivers, and cabling. The role is described as remote/hybrid, but the person must be located in or near Austin, Texas, and travel to DigiStor testing locations. Regular access to physical hardware is required; the ongoing work location and onsite expectations will be agreed during recruitment.

Success means producing repeatable compatibility results tied to documented configurations, isolating failures with evidence, verifying fixes across relevant platforms, and creating reports and test procedures that help engineering and support teams resolve issues and assess product readiness.

Requirements

• Hands-on experience in hardware testing, system validation, integration testing, or technical troubleshooting of PCs and client platforms.
• Confidence assembling and configuring systems, replacing components, updating BIOS and drivers, and checking that a configuration is suitable for testing.
• Working knowledge of PCIe and storage connectivity, including NVMe, SATA, SAS, SCSI, and USB, with practical troubleshooting experience in several of these technologies.
• Understanding of how host controllers, expansion cards, bridges, backplanes, cabling, and device firmware can affect compatibility and reliability.
• Ability to configure Windows and Linux test systems and use their diagnostic tools, device information, and logs to investigate hardware behavior.
• Experience defining test cases and acceptance criteria, controlling variables, reproducing failures, and generating clear, traceable technical reports.
• Good lab discipline, safe component handling, and basic bench measurement skills.
• A relevant technical qualification or equivalent practical experience.
• Must be located in or near Austin, Texas, and able to travel to DigiStor testing locations.
• Regular access to physical hardware is required.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with storage enclosures, removable drive systems, RAID or HBA configurations, and qualification on OEM PC or server platforms.
• Use of multimeters, oscilloscopes, protocol analyzers, thermal chambers, or other hardware validation equipment.
• Bash, Python, or PowerShell scripting for automated test execution and log collection; familiarity with fio, nvme-cli, or smartctl.
• Knowledge of SSD technology, self-encrypting drives, or secure storage products, and experience working with mechanical or electrical design teams.

Responsibilities

• Create and execute hardware validation plans covering functionality, compatibility, connectivity, stability, and regression testing.
• Assemble and configure PC, client, workstation, and server test systems, and maintain controlled records of BIOS, drivers, operating systems, and hardware.
• Validate storage devices, removable carriers, enclosures, host adapters, and expansion cards across supported platforms and interface configurations.
• Test PCIe and storage connectivity, including NVMe, SATA, SAS, SCSI, and USB where applicable; check enumeration, negotiated link speed and width, and error logs.
• Assess boot, reboot, sleep and resume, power cycling, and hot-plug behavior where supported; check recovery and data integrity after state changes.
• Isolate failures through controlled changes to drives, slots, adapters, cables, firmware, and host settings, and document repeatable reproduction steps.
• Use system diagnostics, storage workloads, and bench equipment to investigate electrical, thermal, mechanical, and integration issues with engineering colleagues.
• Produce reports with setup details, methods, pass or fail results, and evidence; track defects, verify fixes, and maintain reusable compatibility matrices.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Education Level: No Education Listed