Manufacturing Test Engineer, Embedded Software

Knightscope•Sunnyvale, CA

4d•$150,000 - $185,000•Onsite

About The Position

Knightscope is seeking a hands-on engineer to develop the software responsible for testing, calibrating, and releasing every K7 vehicle from their production line. 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 enforce factory release gates. The position is based in Sunnyvale, CA, and requires an on-site presence.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Electrical, Robotics, or Controls Engineering, Computer Science, or equivalent experience.
5+ years of software development for hardware test, manufacturing test, or embedded systems on vehicles, robots, or complex electromechanical products.
Track record of designing and writing test software or tooling from scratch, not only maintaining existing systems.
Strong Python for test automation and tooling; solid C or C++ for embedded and hardware-facing code.
Hands-on embedded experience: microcontrollers and/or embedded Linux, firmware flashing and bootloaders, and 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.
Software engineering fundamentals: Git, code review, and automated testing.
Effective, everyday use of AI assistants (e.g., Claude) for coding, debugging, and research: writes clear, well-scoped prompts, breaks problems into steps, and critically checks AI output before it reaches production or hardware.

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

Develop the test software: Design and write the EOL test framework and station software from the ground up, including test sequencing, hardware drivers, logging, and pass/fail limits.
Work with embedded systems: Communicate with vehicle controllers and onboard compute over standard interfaces (e.g., CAN, Ethernet, serial); write low-level tools and utilities to exercise and verify embedded hardware and firmware.
Build factory software gates: Flash firmware and software images, verify versions and configuration, and enforce pass/fail criteria so every unit is released in a known, approved state.
Develop sensor calibration: Implement calibration routines for vehicle sensors such as cameras, LiDAR, and IMUs, including target setup, algorithms, and acceptance limits.
Create traceability: Log serial numbers, calibration data, and test results to a central database, and build reports on yield, failure modes, and station performance.
Build operator tools: Create simple, reliable station interfaces that production technicians can run with minimal training.
Support the line: Debug test failures on the floor down to the hardware, firmware, or software level, and work with the owning teams on root cause.
Maintain the codebase: Use version control, code review, and automated testing; write test specifications and work instructions.