Automotive Firmware QA Engineer | In-Vehicle Validation

The AES Group; Foster City (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

The AES Group in Foster City, CA is seeking a hands‑on Firmware Validation Engineer to lead manual testing, defect debugging, test coverage improvement, and field issue investigation for automotive connectivity and in‑cabin audio systems. This is a validation and debugging role, not firmware development.

Responsibilities include executing comprehensive validation, developing test content, closing coverage gaps, analyzing logs, triaging field issues, and managing defects end‑to‑end in JIRA within

Qualifications

• BS in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related; 8+ years in a hands‑on validation/QA engineering role on firmware or embedded products.
• Validation depth: Demonstrated experience writing and executing test plans/cases, identifying and closing coverage gaps, and managing defects through the full lifecycle.
• Connectivity background (any flavor): Hands‑on validation experience in at least one connectivity domain - Bluetooth, Wi‑Fi, cellular (LTE/5G), GNSS, or vehicle networking.
• Root‑cause skill: Strong log triage and debugging instincts; comfortable with Wireshark, DLT, ADB, and similar tooling.
• Field triage experience: Track record of reproducing and isolating defects reported from production/field environments.
• Python scripting sufficient to automate repetitive checks and parse logs; comfortable on Linux/Ubuntu.
• Strong defect‑tracking discipline (JIRA/Confluence) and experience in agile release cycles.

Responsibilities

• Manual feature validation: Execute functional, integration, regression, and exploratory testing for Audio and streaming features on bench and in‑vehicle.
• Test content development: Author new test cases, expand existing test suites, and keep test documentation current as features evolve.
• Coverage gap closure: Identify untested or under-tested paths in the existing suites and systematically add coverage; track coverage health for each feature track.
• Root cause analysis: Reproduce defects, capture and analyze logs (Wireshark, DLT, ADB, HCI/Bluetooth traces, vehicle logs), and isolate root cause before handing off to firmware owners.
• Field issue triage: Own first‑line triage for Audio and Streaming feature fleet issues - reproduce in lab, narrow scope, and drive issues to closure in partnership with fleet support, diagnostics, and firmware teams.
• Defect lifecycle: Manage defects end‑to‑end in JIRA - clear reproduction steps, attached logs, severity rationale, fix verification, and regression follow‑up.
• Test infrastructure: Maintain test benches, in‑vehicle rigs, and diagnostic setups so they stay release‑ready.
• Cross‑functional communication: Partner with firmware leads, product managers, and integration partners to align on feature readiness and defect priority.

Skills

Firmware validation

Test planning

Debugging

Python scripting

Wireshark

DLT

ADB

JIRA/Confluence

Linux

Education

Bachelor's in Electrical Engineering

Tools

Wireshark

DLT

ADB

JIRA

Confluence

Job description

The AES Group in Foster City, CA is seeking a hands‑on Firmware Validation Engineer to lead manual testing, defect debugging, test coverage improvement, and field issue investigation for automotive connectivity and in‑cabin audio systems. This is a validation and debugging role, not firmware development.

Responsibilities include executing comprehensive validation, developing test content, closing coverage gaps, analyzing logs, triaging field issues, and managing defects end‑to‑end in JIRA within