Manufacturing Test Engineer, Embedded Software

Knightscope•Sunnyvale, CA

2d•Onsite

About The Position

Knightscope is seeking a hands-on engineer to develop the software responsible for testing, calibrating, and releasing every K7 vehicle produced. This role is primarily focused on software development, where you will design and implement the test framework, station software, and embedded interfaces. The software will interact directly with K7 embedded hardware, including controllers, sensors, and onboard compute, to verify subsystems, calibrate sensors, manage firmware and software images, and ensure units meet factory release criteria.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Electrical, Robotics, or Controls Engineering, or equivalent experience.
5+ years of software development experience for hardware test, manufacturing test, or embedded systems on vehicles, robots, or complex electromechanical products.
Proven track record of designing and writing test software or tooling from scratch.
Strong Python skills for test automation and tooling.
Solid C or C++ skills for embedded and hardware-facing code.
Hands-on embedded experience with microcontrollers and/or embedded Linux, firmware flashing and bootloaders.
Experience debugging with tools such as JTAG/SWD debuggers, logic analyzers, and oscilloscopes.
Working knowledge of hardware interfaces and protocols such as CAN/CAN-FD, Ethernet, USB, UART, SPI, and I2C.
Experience controlling test instruments programmatically (e.g., via SCPI).
Ability to read electrical schematics and wiring diagrams.
Proficiency in software engineering fundamentals: Git, code review, and automated testing.
Effective, everyday use of AI assistants (e.g., Claude) for coding, debugging, and research, including writing clear prompts, breaking down problems, and critically checking AI output.

Nice To Haves

Experience calibrating cameras, LiDAR, IMUs, or other sensors in a production environment.
Experience with automotive diagnostics (UDS, OBD) and end-of-line flashing.
Experience with RTOS-based firmware or Linux device drivers.
Background in autonomous vehicles, mobile robotics, EVs, or automotive Tier-1 suppliers.
Experience with ROS/ROS 2, test frameworks (e.g., pytest, OpenHTF), MES, or test databases.

Responsibilities

Design and write the End-of-Line (EOL) test framework and station software from scratch, including test sequencing, hardware drivers, logging, and pass/fail limits.
Communicate with vehicle controllers and onboard compute over standard interfaces (e.g., CAN, Ethernet, serial) to write low-level tools for exercising and verifying embedded hardware and firmware.
Flash firmware and software images, verify versions and configurations, and enforce pass/fail criteria to ensure units are released in a known, approved state.
Implement calibration routines for vehicle sensors such as cameras, LiDAR, and IMUs, including target setup, algorithms, and acceptance limits.
Log serial numbers, calibration data, and test results to a central database, and build reports on yield, failure modes, and station performance.
Create simple, reliable station interfaces for production technicians.
Debug test failures on the production floor, identifying root causes at the hardware, firmware, or software level.
Maintain the codebase using version control, code review, and automated testing.
Write test specifications and work instructions.