Robotics Automation Software Test Engineer

The Home Depot; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 95,000 - 135,000; Full time

Job summary

The Home Depot is seeking a Quality Assurance Engineer to validate software for robotic warehouse operations. You will design and execute tests across warehouse workflows, robotic fleets, and integrations using automation, hardware emulation, and simulation-based validation.

You will collaborate with Software, Robotics, Product, and Customer Operations to ensure reliability under real-world conditions. Strong QA skills and experience with distributed systems are required, with warehouse robotics

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in CS, Engineering, Robotics, Information Systems, or related field.
• 3+ years of software QA, test automation, or systems validation.
• Proficiency in Java or Kotlin; Flutter/Dart familiarity desirable.
• Experience testing distributed software systems and API/integration testing.
• Strong analytical and troubleshooting skills; ability to understand complex workflows.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Experience with warehouse automation, logistics, robotics, or industrial software is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Develop, maintain, and execute test plans, test cases, and validation procedures.
• Validate functionality across warehouse workflows and robotic fleet operations.
• Perform functional, integration, regression, and end-to-end testing.
• Verify system behavior under normal and exception conditions.
• Document test results, defects, and quality risks.
• Build and execute simulation scenarios mimicking real-world warehouse operations.
• Validate software performance under high order volumes, peak periods, robot congestion, and network interruptions.
• Assist in maintaining digital twin environments.
• Develop reusable operational test scenarios for release validation.
• Configure and maintain emulated warehouse environments.
• Validate integrations with AMRs, WMS, WES, barcode scanners, label printers, PLCs, conveyors, and third-party APIs.
• Reproduce customer-reported issues using simulation and emulation.

Skills

Test automation

Java

Kotlin

API testing

Distributed systems

Analytical skills

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Flutter/Dart

Job description

Position Summary

The Quality Assurance Engineer is responsible for validating the reliability, performance, and operational readiness of software systems that manage robotic warehouse operations. This role works closely with Software Engineering, Robotics Engineering, Product Management, and Customer Operations teams to ensure solutions perform correctly under real-world warehouse conditions.

The ideal candidate is passionate about quality engineering, test automation, and operational simulation. They will develop and execute tests that validate warehouse workflows, robotic fleet behavior, integrations, and customer‑specific configurations through a combination of automated testing, hardware emulation, and simulation‑based validation.

This role plays a critical part in preventing production issues by identifying defects and operational risks before software reaches customer environments.

Key Responsibilities

Quality Assurance & Testing

• Develop, maintain, and execute test plans, test cases, and validation procedures.
• Validate functionality across warehouse execution workflows, robotic fleet operations, inventory movement, and fulfillment processes.
• Perform functional, integration, regression, and end-to-end testing.
• Verify system behavior under normal operating conditions and exception scenarios.
• Document test results, defects, and quality risks.

Operational Simulation

• Build and execute simulation scenarios that mimic real-world warehouse operations.
• Validate software performance under:
  • High order volumes
  • Peak operational periods
  • Robot congestion
  • Equipment failures
  • Network interruptions
  • Resource contention
  • Inventory exceptions
• Assist in maintaining digital twin environments representing customer deployments.
• Develop reusable operational test scenarios for release validation.

Hardware Emulation & System Integration

• Configure and maintain emulated warehouse environments.
• Validate integrations with:
  • Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs)
  • Warehouse Management Systems (WMS)
  • Warehouse Execution Systems (WES)
  • Barcode scanners
  • Label printers
  • PLC‑controlled equipment
  • Conveyor systems
  • Third‑party APIs
• Reproduce customer‑reported issues using simulation and emulation environments.

Test Automation

• Develop automated test suites for APIs, workflows, integrations, and regression testing.
• Expand automated coverage across warehouse and robotics applications.
• Integrate automated tests into CI/CD pipelines.
• Maintain test frameworks and automation infrastructure.
• Participate in code reviews for automated test development.

Defect Investigation & Root Cause Analysis

• Identify, document, and track software defects.
• Work with engineering teams to reproduce and diagnose issues.
• Perform root cause analysis for production incidents.
• Verify defect fixes and regression impacts.
• Provide quality assessments for release readiness.

Release Validation

• Participate in release certification activities.
• Execute operational acceptance testing.
• Assess release risk and communicate findings to stakeholders.
• Validate customer‑specific configurations before deployment.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Robotics, Information Systems, or related field.
• 3+ years of experience in software quality assurance, test automation, or systems validation.
• Strong proficiency in Java or Kotlin. Familiarity with Flutter/Dart also desirable.
• Experience testing distributed software systems.
• Experience with API and integration testing.
• Strong analytical and troubleshooting skills.
• Ability to understand complex operational workflows.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in warehouse automation, logistics, robotics, manufacturing, or industrial software.
• Experience with simulation environments or digital twins.
• Experience with hardware/software integration testing.
• Familiarity with autonomous mobile robots (AMRs).
• Experience with warehouse management or execution systems.
• Knowledge of industrial automation concepts and PLC integrations.
• Experience supporting customer‑facing production systems.