Embedded Test Engineer - End-to-End Hardware & Firmware

Aurelius Systems; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Equity

Health insurance

PTO 18 days + 5 sick days

Travel to field test events

Lunches & snacks

Job summary

Aurelius Systems is a defense tech startup building autonomous, edge deployed directed energy systems. We’re transitioning from prototype to product and are seeking a forward deployed embedded engineer who can own the full system integration tests from embedded firmware to the electrical layer.

You will design and build the test infrastructure, write firmware, wire test harnesses, and develop automated procedures to validate performance, reliability, and safety in high-power environments.

Qualifications

• 3+ years embedded firmware development experience — C/C++, real-time systems, scripting test exercises directly against hardware
• Strong electrical wiring and bench skills — scopes, logic analyzers, power supplies, DMMs, harness fabrication
• Python or scripting for test automation. You build your own tools.
• Strong debugging instincts across firmware, power rails, and electrical
• Comfort with DFM concepts — you understand how production constraints shape what's testable
• Performance, reliability, and safety testing as a combined skill set. You know how to stress a system, log what breaks, and define pass/fail criteria that actually matter.
• Clear written communication around failures and root cause. Your test reports tell a story, not just a data dump.
• Robotics or defense companies with real electromechanical products where you wrote test code and wired test setups.

Responsibilities

• Own verification and validation across embedded firmware, power electronics, electromechanical assemblies, and full-system integration
• Write firmware and embedded test code that exercises the system end-to-end (C/C++, real time)
• Wire test electronics, build harnesses, instrumentation setups, and test fixtures
• Develop automated test procedures in Python
• Debug across firmware, power rails, and electrical — root cause from first principles
• Work directly with embedded, electrical, and mechanical engineers to reproduce bugs, validate fixes, and prevent regressions
• Develop test plans, acceptance criteria, and readiness gates as we move from prototype to production
• Partner with the hardware team on DFM and production readiness
• Build HIL and SIL test environments
• Enforce safety procedures in high-power, high-voltage testing environments

Skills

Embedded firmware

C/C++

RTOS

Python scripting

Test automation

Wiring & test equipment

Debugging

Communication

Education

BS in Electrical Engineering

Mechatronics

Aerospace

Equivalent hands-on experience

Tools

Scopes

Logic analyzers

Power supplies

DMMs

Harness fabrication

Job description

Aurelius Systems is a defense tech startup building autonomous, edge deployed directed energy systems. We’re transitioning from prototype to product and are seeking a forward deployed embedded engineer who can own the full system integration tests from embedded firmware to the electrical layer.

You will design and build the test infrastructure, write firmware, wire test harnesses, and develop automated procedures to validate performance, reliability, and safety in high-power environments.