Hardware Validation - Electrical Engineer

Skild AI•San Mateo, CA

1d•$100,000 - $300,000

About The Position

Skild AI is building general-purpose robotic intelligence designed to adapt to unseen scenarios. The company is seeking a motivated, hands-on Electrical Hardware Validation Engineer to work with its Electrical Engineering team on developing and validating next-generation robotics electronics systems. The role focuses on validation strategies for complex robotics PCB designs, including power systems, DC-DC converters, embedded computing platforms, motor control interfaces, and sensor systems. The engineer will also support debugging and failure analysis of existing robotic platforms in laboratory and operational environments. The position involves hands-on hardware troubleshooting, test-method development, and collaboration across engineering disciplines to improve system reliability and future hardware designs.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechatronics, or a related field.
Internship, academic project, or hands-on experience with PCB debugging or embedded electronics.
Proficiency with lab equipment including oscilloscopes, multimeters, power supplies, electronic loads, and logic analyzers.
Familiarity with power electronics, DC-DC converters, embedded systems, sensor and communication interfaces (I2C, SPI, UART, CAN, Ethernet), and lithium battery systems.
Strong troubleshooting, debugging, and root-cause analysis skills.
Ability to read schematics and wiring diagrams and interpret datasheets.
Experience with robotics systems or autonomous platforms.
Experience with PCB design tools such as Altium, KiCad, or Cadence.
Experience with lithium battery testing or battery management systems (BMS).
Experience developing test automation scripts using Python or similar languages.
Understanding of Design for Testability (DFT) principles.
Experience with fixture design, pogo-pin interfaces, or functional test systems.
Experience testing wire harnesses, connectors, or electromechanical assemblies.
Exposure to EMI/EMC, thermal, vibration, or environmental testing.
Familiarity with Linux-based embedded systems.

Responsibilities

Develop comprehensive validation and test plans for new PCB designs and embedded electronic systems.
Define functional, electrical, thermal, and reliability test procedures for robotics hardware.
Perform board bring-up, debugging, and characterization in the lab.
Validate power distribution and protection circuits, DC-DC converters and power sequencing, embedded computing hardware, sensor interfaces and communication buses, and high-speed digital and analog circuits.
Perform lithium battery safety and validation testing, including charge/discharge characterization, protection circuit verification, thermal behavior evaluation, and failure-mode analysis.
Develop and execute wire harness reliability and characterization tests, including continuity, insulation resistance, strain relief, vibration and flex-cycle, and connector retention validation.
Design, build, and maintain hardware test fixtures and validation setups.
Support debugging and repair of existing robotic systems and deployed hardware.
Investigate hardware failures, identify root causes, and drive corrective actions.
Collaborate with Electrical, Mechanical, Firmware, and Systems Engineers to improve testability, manufacturability, robustness, and serviceability.
Collect, analyze, and document test data, failure reports, validation procedures, and engineering findings.
Communicate technical issues, test results, and root-cause findings across cross-functional engineering teams.
Support automation of repetitive validation and diagnostic tasks using scripting tools where appropriate.
Support prototype builds, integration activities, and system-level testing.
Maintain lab equipment, calibration records, and validation documentation.