Software Engineer - HIL

Neuralink; Austin, South San Francisco (TX, CA); On-site; USD 151,000 - 281,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Equity (RSUs)

401(k) plan

Parental leave

Flexible time off

Meals provided

Job summary

Neuralink is seeking engineers to own the robot’s Hardware In the Loop (HIL) test system and to run production software with real hardware. You will automate verification, reproduce faults, and ensure reliable testing around the surgical robot platform.

The role involves building automated test pipelines, defining pass/fail criteria, and integrating HIL tests into a single CI workflow. Austin, Texas, hosts our headquarters and growth.

Qualifications

• Strong Rust skills and Python for test tooling.
• Experience with HIL, test rigs, or system verification on hardware.
• Ability to define pass/fail criteria and build automated test pipelines.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain robot HIL with real hardware and production software.
• Write automated HIL tests for integration, timing, faults, and bring-up.
• Define pass/fail criteria and acceptance.
• Wire tests into a CI pipeline with logs, traces, reproducible results.

Skills

Rust

Python

Test automation

Tools

Bazel

HIL

CI workflows

Job description

We are creating devices that enable a bi-directional interface with the brain. These devices allow us to restore movement to the paralyzed, restore sight to the blind, and revolutionize how humans interact with their digital world.

The Role

Neuralink’s next generation surgical robot will perform brain surgery at scale, installing hundreds of tiny threads into the brain to enable brain computer communication.

You will own the robot’s Hardware In the Loop (HIL) test system. Exercise the production surgical robot, controllers and firmware against controlled inputs, reproduce faults, and automate verification. Your HIL will enable unattended test & verification to run day and night. Your work will help deliver reliable surgical robots at scale, bringing Neuralink to more people.

What you’ll do

• Build and maintain robot HIL — real hardware running production software and firmware.
• Write automated HIL tests for integration, timing, faults, and bring-up.
• Define pass/fail, coverage, and acceptance criteria.
• Wire software-in-the-loop tests, HIL tests, and hardware acceptance into one CI pipeline with logs, traces, and reproducible results.
• Own release-gating tests. When a failure escapes sim or HIL, you reproduce it and close the coverage gap.

Note: The team is hiring engineers at all levels, both junior and senior. What matters most is evidence of exceptional abilities and a drive to succeed.

What we’re looking for

• Strong Rust skills; Python for test tooling and analysis. Comfortable close to drivers, firmware, and buses.
• Experience with HIL, test rigs, or system-level verification on robots, vehicles, or similar hardware.
• Experience debugging async and concurrent systems, RPC, telemetry, and timing failures across software and firmware.
• Experience building automated test pipelines. Bazel experience is a plus.
• Effective at using AI agents to accelerate work while maintaining quality.
• Obsession with repeatability, edge cases, and traceability.

The anticipated base salary for this position is expected to be within the following range. Your actual base pay will be determined by your job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. We also believe in aligning our employees’ success with the company's long-term growth. As such, in addition to base salary, Neuralink offers equity compensation (in the form of Restricted Stock Units (RSU)) for all full-time employees.

Base Salary Range:

$151,000 - $281,000 USD

What We Offer

Full-time employees are eligible for the following benefits listed below.

• An opportunity to change the world and work with some of the smartest and most talented experts from different fields
• Growth potential; we rapidly advance team members who have an outsized impact
• Excellent medical, dental, and vision insurance through a PPO plan
• Paid holidays
• Meals provided
• Equity (RSUs) *Temporary Employees & Interns excluded
• 401(k) plan *Interns initially excluded until they work 1,000 hours
• Parental leave *Temporary Employees & Interns excluded
• Flexible time off *Temporary Employees & Interns excluded

Austin is our headquarters and where most of our hiring growth is concentrated.