Senior QA Engineer

AiRISTA; Timonium (MD); On-site; USD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

AiRISTA is seeking a Senior QA Engineer to own the quality and reliability of the AiRISTA Flow ecosystem across hardware, firmware, and software. You will define test strategy, lead release validation, and determine readiness for customers in a fast-moving IoT environment.

You will manage the COE lab, test new releases, validate integrations, reproduce field issues, and mentor testers. This role collaborates with R&D, Product Management, and Support in Timonium, MD.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in software QA or test engineering, including 2+ years testing integrated hardware/software, networked, or IoT systems.
• Strong QA fundamentals: test design techniques, risk-based testing, traceability, and the full defect life cycle.
• Experience writing test strategies and test plans, and owning release validation.
• Solid understanding of 802.11 WLAN (2.4 and 5 GHz), Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), and TCP/IP networking.
• Working SQL skills for data validation and troubleshooting.
• Experience with Jira and a test management tool (TestRail, Zephyr, Xray, or similar).
• Proven ability to troubleshoot across hardware, network, and software layers and drive root cause analysis.
• Strong written and verbal communication for test plans, defect reports, and technical documentation.

Responsibilities

• Own test strategy and test plans for software, firmware, and hardware releases, following a structured test process from planning and analysis through execution and completion (ISTQB-aligned).
• Own and evolve the 12-week rolling COE test plan used to validate new releases before deployment.
• Apply risk-based testing to prioritize coverage of high-impact hardware/software interactions.
• Define entry and exit criteria, and give the go/no-go quality recommendation for each release.
• Set QA standards for testware, including test plans, test case specifications, defect reports, and test summary reports.
• Join requirements and design reviews to catch testability and risk gaps early.
• Mentor junior testers and coordinate testing work with external contractors.

Skills

QA experience

Hardware/IoT testing

Test strategies

Networking (WLAN/BLE)

SQL data validation

Jira/Test management

Root cause analysis

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Jira

TestRail/Zephyr/Xray

Job description

AiRISTA delivers real-time location (RTLS) and IoT solutions that help organizations track assets, people, and conditions. The AiRISTA Flow platform combines Wi-Fi and BLE tags, sensors, gateways, and enterprise software, deployed in demanding environments where reliability matters. AiRISTA is headquartered in Timonium, Maryland, and maintains a quality management system aligned with ISO 9001 and ISO 27001.

Position Overview

As a Senior QA Engineer, you will own the quality and reliability of the AiRISTA Flow ecosystem: physical hardware, firmware, and software interfaces across server, cloud, mobile, and web. You will define test strategy, lead release validation, and make the quality call on whether a release is ready for customers.

You will manage AiRISTA's Center of Excellence (COE) lab, where we test new releases, validate integrations, run customer demonstrations, and reproduce field issues. You will work closely with R&D, Product Management, Professional Services, and Support, and mentor other testers and contractors as the QA function grows

Key Responsibilities

1. Quality Strategy & Leadership

• Own test strategy and test plans for software, firmware, and hardware releases, following a structured test process from planning and analysis through execution and completion (ISTQB-aligned).
• Own and evolve the 12-week rolling COE test plan used to validate new releases before deployment.
• Apply risk-based testing to prioritize coverage of high-impact hardware/software interactions.
• Define entry and exit criteria, and give the go/no-go quality recommendation for each release.
• Set QA standards for testware, including test plans, test case specifications, defect reports, and test summary reports.
• Join requirements and design reviews to catch testability and risk gaps early.
• Mentor junior testers and coordinate testing work with external contractors.

2. Jira, Traceability & Reporting

• Structure the QA backlog and defect workflows in Jira, with full traceability from requirements to test cases and results.
• Maintain a standard defect life cycle shared by the hardware, firmware, and software teams.
• Build Jira dashboards that track progress against Definition of Done and exit criteria.
• Report quality metrics such as defect trends, escaped defects, test coverage, and RMA/field failure trends.
• Keep test documentation and release validation records audit-ready under AiRISTA's ISO 9001 / ISO 27001 quality management system.

3. Product Testing & Validation

• Design and run functional, integration, end-to-end, regression, and exploratory tests.
• Build test scenarios from customer use cases, field deployments, and reported issues.
• Run interoperability testing with partner WLAN infrastructure, including Cisco, Aruba, Juniper Mist, Ruckus, and others.
• Validate location accuracy and behavior under real-world RF conditions (interference, coverage, roaming).
• Test APIs and web services, and validate data with SQL queries.
• Run performance, load, and scalability tests for large tag and device deployments.
• Perform regression testing for software releases and new firmware.
• Validate installation, upgrade, and migration paths.

4. Test Automation & AI Tools

• Identify high-value regression areas and drive their automation.
• Build and maintain automated tests and test utilities (UI, API, or scripted device tests).
• Research and pilot AI-powered testing tools for test design, execution, and self-healing automation, selecting tools on measurable ROI and fit with the hardware/software pipeline.
• Work with engineering to integrate automated tests into the build and release process.

5. Center of Excellence (COE) Lab

• Manage the COE lab for internal testing, customer demonstrations, external integrations, and system-level solution validation.
• Keep the COE current with the latest software, hardware, and configurations, as guided by Product Management.
• Configure and maintain servers (including VMware), access points, tags, sensors, gateways, and mobile devices.
• Track test equipment inventory and coordinate repairs or replacements.

6. Issue Reproduction & Support

• Replicate field scenarios in the COE to help Tier 2 and Tier 3 Support resolve complex customer issues.
• Collect logs, screenshots, packet captures, and other diagnostics.
• Isolate whether issues stem from hardware, networking, firmware, or software, and give engineering clear root cause findings.
• Verify fixes before they reach customers.

7. Documentation & Help Center

• Create and maintain deployment guides and hardware troubleshooting guides for solutions validated in the COE.
• Publish and keep this content current in AiRISTA's Help Center.
• Propose Help Center improvements that speed up deployments and customer self-service.

Required Qualifications

• 5+ years in software QA or test engineering, including 2+ years testing integrated hardware/software, networked, or IoT systems.
• Strong QA fundamentals: test design techniques, risk-based testing, traceability, and the full defect life cycle.
• Experience writing test strategies and test plans, and owning release validation.
• Solid understanding of 802.11 WLAN (2.4 and 5 GHz), Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), and TCP/IP networking.
• Working SQL skills for data validation and troubleshooting.
• Experience with Jira and a test management tool (TestRail, Zephyr, Xray, or similar).
• Proven ability to troubleshoot across hardware, network, and software layers and drive root cause analysis.
• Strong written and verbal communication for test plans, defect reports, and technical documentation.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.
• Experience with RTLS, BLE, RFID, Wi-Fi location, or other wireless/IoT products.
• Experience with enterprise WLAN platforms (Cisco, Aruba, Juniper Mist, Ruckus).
• Networking depth: routing, firewall configuration, protocol analysis, and live traffic troubleshooting with Wireshark.
• Test automation or scripting experience (Python, PowerShell, C#, Selenium/Playwright, or API automation).
• Experience evaluating or using AI-assisted testing tools.
• Windows Server, VMware, and Microsoft SQL Server administration.
• Performance or load testing experience.
• Experience working in an ISO 9001 or ISO 27001 environment.
• ISTQB/ASTQB CTFL, CWNA, CWSP, WCNA, or similar certifications.

What Makes You Successful Here

• Methodical and detail-oriented, with a sharp eye for edge cases.
• Comfortable owning quality decisions and pushing back when a release isn't ready.
• A fast learner with a real interest in wireless networking and IoT.
• Able to balance multiple priorities in a fast-moving engineering environment.
• Proactive about improving test quality, efficiency, and automation.