Hardware Test Engineer

Gritt; South San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 165,000; Full time

Job summary

Gritt is seeking a Hardware Test Engineer to define and lead how our hardware is proven to survive years on job sites. You will run tests in the yard behind the office, under sun, wind, dust, and temperature, and coordinate lab-based and life-cycle testing to ensure reliability.

You will own test plans across components and fully integrated robots, build fixtures and automation, and drive data-driven decisions to ship robust hardware for outdoor use.

Qualifications

• 3+ years testing hardware on robotic systems.
• Data-driven approach with quantitative acceptance criteria.
• Strong safety judgment for outdoor, heavy equipment work.
• Ability to work with minimal supervision in unfamiliar, ground-up environments.
• Excellent problem-solving skills and attention to detail.
• Legally authorized to work in the United States.

Responsibilities

• Own test strategy end to end, translating design requirements into test plans for components and full robots.
• Run functional, environmental, and life-cycle tests in real outdoor conditions.
• Lead root-cause investigations with data analysis and cross-functional teams.
• Test across real-world site conditions to validate hardware in production scenarios.
• Develop, document, and enforce safety procedures for testing heavy hardware.
• Produce clear, data-driven test reports with traceability from requirements to results.
• Investigate field incidents and feed findings back into the loop to prevent recurrence.

Skills

Test planning

Data analysis

Root-cause analysis

Safety compliance

Problem solving

Ownership

Outdoor environment work

Education

B.S./M.S. in Engineering

Job description

Gritt is an intelligent system that combines robotics and AI to build the infrastructure that pulls society forward. Gritt deploys via simple attachments to common equipment found on construction sites and autonomously performs labor-intensive tasks, verification, and planning. Gritt systems are already building critical infrastructure in the harshest outdoor environments, starting with large-scale solar. The founding team includes experts in robotics and AI from Carnegie Mellon, Stanford, and MIT. Gritt is backed by Obvious Ventures, Union Square Ventures, First Round Capital, Climactic, Congruent Ventures, and other leading firms.

Role: Hardware Test Engineer

Location: SF Bay Area (in-person)

About the role

We are looking for a Hardware Test Engineer to own how we prove our hardware is ready to survive years on a job site. Most of your testing happens in the yard behind our office, where our robots run in genuine sun, wind, dust, and temperature, alongside lab-based and life-cycle testing. You will define the test strategy, build the fixtures and automation that catch failures before they ship, and lead test campaigns across components, subassemblies, and fully integrated robots. Your work directly determines whether our hardware is trusted to hold up in the field.

What you'll get to work on

• Own test strategy end to end - translate design requirements into test plans across components, subassemblies, and the fully integrated robot.

• Run functional, environmental, and life-cycle testing (dust, heat, vibration, repeated cycling) to generate real numbers, not guesses.

• Lead root-cause investigations on hardware failures - teardowns, data analysis, working directly with our hardware team to close the loop.

• Test across real-world conditions the robot must handle in production, from new hardware to changing site and weather conditions.

• Develop, document, and enforce safety procedures for testing heavy hardware around people and equipment.

• Produce clear, data-driven test reports and maintain traceability from requirements through to test execution and results.

• Investigate field incidents and feed structured findings back into the loop so the same issue never ships twice.

What we look for

• B.S./M.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering, EE, Mechatronics, Robotics, or other engineering disciplines (or equivalent experience).

• 3+ years testing hardware on real electromechanical or robotic systems.

• A rigorous, data-driven approach - you write clear test plans, define quantitative acceptance criteria, and make ship / no-ship calls backed by evidence.

• Sound safety judgment - you are comfortable working hands-on with heavy machinery outdoors and take procedure seriously.

• Comfortable taking ownership of tasks with light supervision, especially in ambiguous, ground-up environments.

• Must have excellent problem-solving skills.

• Legally authorized to work in the United States.