Hardware Test Engineer — Solar Systems & Automation

Optivolt; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health coverage

Unlimited PTO

Pre-IPO equity

Job summary

Optivolt in San Francisco is seeking a hands-on Hardware Test Engineer to build validation systems for fast, reliable solar hardware. You will own hands-on electrical and system-level testing from prototype characterization to automated regression, field validation, and production test development.

You will work across hardware and firmware, write repeatable test plans and acceptance criteria, and collaborate with engineers to turn measurements into actionable fixes.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of hands-on hardware test, validation, or electrical engineering experience.
• Strong electrical fundamentals and ability to read schematics and debug circuits.
• Experience with oscilloscopes, power analyzers, electronic loads, DAQs, and bench instrumentation.
• Python proficiency for automation, analysis, and instrument control.

Responsibilities

• Build test systems that engineers rely on. Design and maintain test benches for Hub, power electronics, and integrated solar systems.
• Automate repetitive validation work. Develop automated test scripts, fixtures, instrumentation interfaces, and data collection systems.
• Measure essential metrics. Characterize electrical performance, efficiency, thermal behavior, and protection functions.
• Find and reproduce edge cases through functional, environmental, stress, and firmware/hardware regression testing.
• Make failures reproducible. Build hardware-in-the-loop or other automated system validation where useful.
• Turn measurements into answers. Analyze data, reproduce failures, isolate root causes, and collaborate with engineers on fixes.
• Work across hardware and firmware. Write repeatable test plans, acceptance criteria, procedures, and concise reports.
• Bring validation into production. Support certification testing, outdoor trials, and end-of-line manufacturing test.

Skills

Hardware testing

Electrical fundamentals

Test automation

Lab equipment

Python automation

Cross-disciplinary debugging

Repeatable tests

Ownership

Tools

SCPI

LabVIEW

CAN

UART

SPI

Oscilloscopes

Power analyzers

Job description

Optivolt in San Francisco is seeking a hands-on Hardware Test Engineer to build validation systems for fast, reliable solar hardware. You will own hands-on electrical and system-level testing from prototype characterization to automated regression, field validation, and production test development.

You will work across hardware and firmware, write repeatable test plans and acceptance criteria, and collaborate with engineers to turn measurements into actionable fixes.