Senior Test Engineer (Hardware Automation QA)

Workshop; Austin, Northern (TX, KY); Hybrid; USD 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity package

Health insurance

Paid family leave

Unlimited PTO

Strong team culture

Job summary

Drover is seeking a device QA / Test Engineer to ensure reliability of our ear tag system in field conditions. You will design test plans, build fixtures, run environmental and reliability tests, and report results from day one, with opportunity to lead a QA function as we scale.

In this early-stage startup, you’ll work cross-functionally with hardware, firmware, and contract manufacturers to catch failure modes early, maintain calibration records, and turn test data into actionable design and

Qualifications

• Experience in hardware test engineering for physical products (IoT, rugged electronics, wearables, or automotive).
• Experience building test automation, fixtures, or DAQ/instrumentation from scratch.
• Ability to work in early-stage startups with ambiguity.
• Strong data analysis and clear ship/no-ship recommendations.
• Willing to work in-person in Austin.

Responsibilities

• Own the test strategy for the Drover ear tag, from component-level verification through full-unit environmental and reliability testing.
• Help design and manage environmental and reliability tests — thermal cycling, ingress (IP-rating), UV/solar exposure, tumble, impact/drop, vibration, and accelerated life testing (e.g. HALT).
• Build bespoke test rigs, fixtures, and data acquisition setups to automate and scale testing across hundreds of units.
• Write test plans that trace directly back to product and reliability requirements, and deliver clear pass/fail evidence to engineering leadership.
• Partner with hardware, firmware, and our contract manufacturer to catch failure modes early, rather than at end-of-line.
• Maintain calibration records, test versioning, and full traceability across procedures and equipment.
• Analyze test data and turn it into clear, actionable recommendations for design and manufacturing decisions.
• Help stand up quality processes and test infrastructure that scale as we move from seed-stage prototypes to commercial production volume.
• Help with early customer support to resolve early issues, high willingness to put on boots and travel out to ranchers to help debug.

Skills

Hardware testing

QA / reliability validation

Data analysis

Test automation

In-person Austin

Tools

Test rigs

DAQ systems

Instrumentation

Automation scripts

Job description

About Drover

Drover is building a virtual fencing ear tag for cattle, and the platform around it to run the modern ranch.

Fencing is one of the oldest unsolved problems in agriculture. Ranchers spend billions of dollars a year building and maintaining physical fences, and every fence line locks land into a grazing pattern it wasn't made for. Virtual fencing is changing that, a generational shift in how ranches are run, bringing precision and productivity gains to an industry that has to feed a growing population with fewer resources.

But every system on the market today requires a collar: bulky, infrastructure-dependent, and built around electric shock. We're taking a path the industry thought impossible. We've shrunk virtual fencing into the ear tag, the form factor every cattle producer on earth already uses. Our tag combines low-power GPS, cellular and satellite connectivity, embedded sensing, solar power, and patent-pending muscle stimulation that guides cattle directionally rather than shocking them. Ranchers tag their cattle once and immediately start running their operation from their phone.

We were founded by Callum Taylor (Harvard, EE & fifth-generation ranching family) and Samuel Aubin (USYD, CS), who both grew up in Australian ranching towns. We built a working ear tag and a patent-pending stimulation method in twelve months (five times faster than competitors), and are now scaling manufacturing to put the technology on every head of cattle in the USA, Australia, and New Zealand.

We closed an oversubscribed seed round, signed a top-tier contract manufacturer, and are on track to launch commercially in Texas in Q1 2027.

We're headquartered in Austin, Texas.

About the role

As our device QA / Test Engineer, you'll be the backbone of reliability for Drover products. Our device has to survive years in a field environment: sun, rain, mud, dust, cattle behavior. All while running solar power management, low-power GPS, cellular and satellite radios, embedded sensing, and our muscle-stimulation actuation system. Every one of those subsystems needs to be tested to a standard that lets us ship with confidence.

This is a high-ownership role at an early-stage company: you'll design test plans, build fixtures, run environmental and reliability testing, and report results almost from day one, with the opportunity to build and lead a test/quality function as we scale.

What You'll Do

• Own the test strategy for the Drover ear tag, from component-level verification through full-unit environmental and reliability testing

• Help design and manage environmental and reliability tests — thermal cycling, ingress (IP-rating), UV/solar exposure, tumble, impact/drop, vibration, and accelerated life testing (e.g. HALT)

• Build bespoke test rigs, fixtures, and data acquisition setups to automate and scale testing across hundreds of units

• Write test plans that trace directly back to product and reliability requirements, and deliver clear pass/fail evidence to engineering leadership

• Partner with hardware, firmware, and our contract manufacturer to catch failure modes early, rather than at end-of-line

• Maintain calibration records, test versioning, and full traceability across procedures and equipment

• Analyze test data and turn it into clear, actionable recommendations for design and manufacturing decisions

• Help stand up quality processes and test infrastructure that scale as we move from seed-stage prototypes to commercial production volume

• Help with early customer support to resolve early issues, high willingness to put on boots and travel out to ranchers to help debug.

Requirements

• Meaningful experience in hardware/device test engineering, QA, or reliability validation for physical products (IoT, ruggedized consumer electronics, wearables, automotive, or similar)

• Experience building test automation, fixtures, or DAQ/instrumentation systems from scratch

• Comfortable working with ambiguity and building process at an early-stage startup

• Strong data analysis and reporting skills — you can turn raw test data into a clear ship/no-ship recommendation

• Willing to work in-person in Austin

Nice to have

• Experience testing battery/solar-powered or low-power embedded devices

• Hands-on experience designing and executing environmental/reliability stress tests and understanding the underlying failure physics, not just running a checklist

• Experience with cellular, GPS, or satellite-connected hardware

• Experience with actuator, motor, or stimulation-based hardware systems

• Background working directly with contract manufacturers on DVT/PVT/MP builds

Note: Even if you don't have all of the above and still think you're an excellent candidate, please reach out. We're always open to great people with core skillsets who are willing to push and learn.

Benefits

• Meaningful equity package with a high trajectory start-up

• Health, dental, vision insurance

• Paid family and medical leave

• Unlimited PTO

• Collaborative environment with emphasis on strong team culture

• Ownership and responsibility