Electrical Hardware Test Engineer

thrively; Santa Clara (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Thrively is seeking an electrical hardware test engineer to own test, validation, and prototype development across the hardware lifecycle. You’ll build custom test systems for ASICs and PCBAs, debug complex issues, and contribute to PCB design as prototypes progress toward production.

The role emphasizes hands-on lab work, solving ambiguous hardware problems, and end-to-end ownership from design to bring-up to production in a fast-paced AI hardware environment.

Qualifications

• BS or MS in Electrical Engineering.
• 5–8+ years of experience in electrical hardware test, validation, or design.
• Strong hands-on experience with PCBAs, board bring-up, electrical debugging, and hardware validation.
• Experience in test automation using Python or similar scripting languages.
• Excellent lab skills with standard test equipment and debugging tools.
• Ability to troubleshoot hardware at board/component level and perform root-cause analysis.
• Experience with PCB design, schematic capture, and layout using Altium Designer.
• Hands-on soldering to 0402 and above.
• Strong technical communication and documentation skills.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and program custom electrical test stations for ASICs, PCBAs, and subsystems.
• Develop creative test approaches for non-off-the-shelf solutions.
• Evaluate and select test equipment, fixtures, sockets, wafer probers, and related hardware.
• Collaborate with vendors to procure or develop specialized test equipment.
• Integrate instrumentation and software into automated test systems.
• Develop test automation and custom test protocols.
• Design R&D, production-test, and product circuit boards.
• Contribute to architecture diagrams and component selection.
• Perform schematic design and contribute to PCB layout.
• Manage PCB fabrication and assembly.
• Bring up and verify newly built hardware.
• Hands-on debugging with scopes, meters, loads, probes.
• Identify root causes of electrical failures and drive corrective actions.
• Develop and execute validation plans for prototypes and production tests.
• Participate in FMEA/FMECA activities.
• Create engineering, test, and manufacturing documentation.

Skills

PCB test & bring-up

Test automation (Python)

Electrical debugging

Schematic capture

PCB design

Documentation

Soldering 0402

Education

BS or MS in Electrical Engineering

Tools

Altium Designer

Oscilloscopes

Logic analyzers

Multimeters

Waveform generators

Electronic loads

Job description

Thrively is partnering with a well-funded, venture-backed deep-tech startup developing next-generation optical switching technology for AI and hyperscale data centers.

The company is building a highly differentiated, chip-scale optical switching platform designed to address some of the fundamental connectivity, power, and scalability challenges created by increasingly large GPU clusters. Its technology combines silicon photonics, MEMS, advanced electronics, ASICs, and embedded systems to enable significantly more efficient connectivity within next-generation AI infrastructure.

As the company moves its technology from development toward production, we're looking for a highly hands-on Electrical Hardware Test Engineer who can take broad ownership across electrical test, board-level hardware, validation, and prototype development.

The Role

This is not a narrowly defined test execution role.

You'll develop custom test systems for semiconductors and PCBAs, find creative ways to test difficult components, debug complex electrical issues, and validate ASICs, circuit boards, and subsystems as they progress from prototype into production.

You'll also contribute directly to PCB design and prototype development, giving you an opportunity to work across much more of the hardware lifecycle than you might find within a larger, more segmented engineering organization.

We're particularly interested in engineers who enjoy getting into the lab, building things themselves, solving ambiguous hardware problems, and taking ownership from design → build → bring-up → test → debug → production.

What You'll Do

Custom Test System Development

• Design, build, and program custom electrical test stations for ASICs, PCBAs, and other electronic subsystems
• Develop creative test approaches for components and systems that don't have an off-the-shelf test solution
• Evaluate and select test equipment, fixtures, sockets, wafer probers, and related hardware
• Work with third-party vendors to procure or develop specialized test equipment
• Integrate instrumentation, custom electronics, fixtures, and software into automated test systems
• Develop test automation and custom test protocols
• Design R&D, production-test, and product circuit boards
• Develop architecture/block diagrams and select components
• Perform schematic design and contribute to PCB layout
• Manage PCB fabrication and assembly
• Bring up and verify newly built hardware
• Perform hands-on board-level debugging using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, power supplies, electronic loads, multimeters, and other bench equipment
• Identify root causes of electrical failures and drive corrective actionsDevelop and execute validation plans for prototypes and production test systems
• Participate in FMEA/FMECA activities
• Create engineering, test, and manufacturing documentation

Cross-Functional Product Development

• Firmware and embedded systems
• FPGA
• MEMS
• Mechanical engineering
• Manufacturing and product development

You'll also help establish scalable electrical test methodologies as the company's technology moves toward higher-volume production.

What We're Looking For

• BS or MS in Electrical Engineering
• Approximately 5-8+ years of industry experience in electrical hardware test, validation, or design
• Strong hands-on experience with PCBAs, board bring-up, electrical debugging, and hardware validation
• Experience developing test automation using Python or a similar scripting language
• Excellent laboratory skills using oscilloscopes, multimeters, power supplies, waveform generators, electronic loads, logic analyzers, and related instrumentation
• Ability to troubleshoot hardware at the board and component level and perform structured root-cause analysis
• Experience or demonstrated capability with PCB design, schematic capture, and board development
• Experience with Altium Designer; schematic and layout experience strongly preferred
• Familiarity with embedded systems and hardware/software integration
• Hands-on soldering capability, including components down to approximately 0402
• Strong technical communication and documentation skills

Particularly Relevant Experience

Experience in any of the following would be especially valuable.

• Semiconductor or ASIC test
• Wafer-level testing or wafer probers
• Custom electrical test fixtures
• Automated hardware validation systems
• PCB/PCBA design and development
• NPI and transition from prototype to production
• Silicon photonics, optical hardware, or high-speed electronics
• FMEA/FMECA or reliability engineering

Why This Opportunity?

This role should be particularly compelling for an engineer who has worked within a larger organization where responsibilities are divided between R&D, electrical design, validation, test, and manufacturing, but who now wants broader ownership.

Rather than simply receiving finished hardware and executing validation against it, you'll have the opportunity to influence how the hardware is designed, build the systems used to test it, bring up new boards, debug failures at the component level, and help move a fundamentally new technology toward production.

It's a highly hands-on environment with significant technical ownership and direct exposure to a multidisciplinary team working at the intersection of AI infrastructure, semiconductors, silicon photonics, MEMS, and advanced hardware development.