Senior Software QA Engineer, Avionics Platform

Firestorm•San Diego, CA

6d•Onsite

About The Position

Firestorm's Avionics Platform team builds the software platform that flies our vehicles. This includes flight computers and peripheral controllers running embedded Linux and RTOS stacks, middleware and Linux services, low-level drivers and HALs, and critical interfaces connecting autonomy, payloads, and communications. We are seeking a Senior Software QA Engineer to be the first line of deep testing for this avionics stack, validating embedded firmware, board support packages, device drivers, and safety-critical data paths before Flight Test. The role involves a blend of expert exploratory/system testing and targeted automation across Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) and Software-in-the-Loop (SIL) rigs. You will exercise real buses (CAN/CAN-FD, UART, SPI, I²C, Ethernet) and stress links (MAVLink, Tactical Data Links, etc.) under real-world fault conditions. Collaboration with avionics, autonomy, radio, and payload engineers is key to hardening reliability on the aircraft. This is a full-time, onsite role at our San Diego HQ, requiring hands-on time with various hardware components to validate end-to-end flight workflows.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Robotics, Computer Science, Engineering, or related field
5+ years professional QA/SDET experience, including automation for embedded/real-time or safety-critical systems.
Hands-on testing for embedded Linux and/or RTOS (e.g., NuttX, FreeRTOS, PX4) and driver/HAL layers across UART/SPI/I²C/CAN-FD/Ethernet.
Practical experience building automated tests with Python (pytest/Robot or equivalent) controlling benches over serial/CAN/Ethernet; comfort with C/C++ artifacts and host-based unit tests (gtest).
Comfortable validating networked real-time systems (MAVLink, DDS, WebSockets), async I/O, and telemetry flows under constrained or lossy links.
Proficient with Linux and Windows test environments, CLI tooling, scripting (Python/Bash/PowerShell), and Git.
Experience integrating test suites into CI/CD (GitLab CI/Jenkins/GitHub Actions) and working with firmware packaging/bootloaders/OTA.
Strong exploratory testing, defect isolation, and written communication—able to translate flight and bring-up workflows into crisp, testable scenarios.
U.S. Citizenship and ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government security clearance.

Nice To Haves

Deep experience with HIL/SIL design (sensor and bus emulation, fault injection, golden-trace comparison) and data-driven test design.
Experience with PX4/ArduPilot middleware, uORB/parameters, and flight-control logging; familiarity with QGroundControl mission/telemetry workflows.
Protocol/domain knowledge: MAVLink, STANAG 4586, Cursor-on-Target, DDS/RTPS, CAN diagnostics.
Comfort with radios, GNSS, IMUs, payload interfaces, and lab bring-up; basic electronics (oscilloscope/logic-analyzer/JTAG) a plus.
Performance/reliability testing: stress/soak/latency, boot-time and watchdog behavior, power-interrupt/EMI considerations; awareness of DO-178C/DO-160/MIL-STD-810/461 practices.
Experience with Yocto/Buildroot, containerized benches (Docker/Podman), and artifact reproducibility.
Test management/reporting (e.g., TestRail/Jira) and metrics for release readiness.

Responsibilities

Own system test for avionics (embedded Linux + RTOS targets), providing fast, actionable feedback on functional defects, timing issues, and regressions that impact flight safety and operator trust.
Plan and execute risk-based strategies: feature/bring-up test plans, exploratory charters, protocol-level regression suites, acceptance criteria, and release sign-off gates ahead of Flight Test.
Build and maintain automation for HIL/SIL: SIL: host-based unit/integration tests for drivers and middleware (e.g., gtest/pytest), simulation of sensors/buses, fault-injection hooks. HIL: Python-driven benches to exercise serial/CAN/Ethernet I/O, sensor emulators, and power-cycle/bootloader/OTA flows; automate log capture and golden-trace diffs.
Stand up reproducible rigs: power supplies/electronic loads, CAN analyzers, logic analyzers, GNSS/sensor simulators, programmable RF links; script scenario playback and telemetry injection.
Validate robustness under degraded conditions: jitter, clock drift, packet loss/duplication, bus contention, brownouts, hot-plug, and watchdog resets; verify safe behavior and recovery paths.
Instrument and diagnose: collect structured logs/metrics; create packet and log scrapers; use Wireshark, logic-analyzer traces, and serial/TCP/UDP sniffers to isolate timing and state issues quickly.
Own defect triage: minimize and reproduce; file high-signal reports with traces, steps, suspected root cause; track to closure with responsible engineers.
Shift-left quality with the team: review code/IDLs from a testability lens, encourage dependency hygiene, feature flags, determinism controls, and golden datasets.
Integrate into CI/CD (GitLab/Jenkins): hardware runners for on-bench smoke, protocol/regression gates, and per-target artifact validation (e.g., .bin/.hex, DFU, OTA).
Contribute to safety, security, and reliability hardening aligned to MIL-STD/DO guidance (negative testing, fuzzing on parsers, permission audits, fail-safe defaults, persistent-state hygiene).
Produce crisp test docs (plans, procedures, bench/bring-up checklists) and mentor engineers on embedded QA techniques and automation patterns.

Benefits

Comprehensive medical, dental, and visions plans
401(k) Retirement Savings Plan
Unlimited PTO
Extremely generous company holiday calendar, including a holiday hiatus in December.
Generous Parental Leave
FSA
HSA
Hospital Indemnity insurance
Critical Illness insurance
Accident insurance
Basic Life/AD&D, short-term and long-term disability insurance, 100% covered by Firestorm.
Option to purchase additional life insurance for you and your family.
Mental Health Resources: free mental health resources 24/7 including therapy and more.
Additional work-life services, such as free legal and financial support.