Software Engineer in Test, Humanoid Robotics

Boston Dynamics, Inc.; Waltham (MA); On-site; USD 88,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Boston Dynamics, Inc. is seeking a highly technical Software Engineer in Test to validate Atlas software systems, focusing on reliability, safety, and performance with emphasis on metrics-based testing across web interfaces, APIs, and robotic behavior.

You will design and maintain a comprehensive regression suite, perform HIL testing with physical hardware, and drive end-to-end XR testing for VR/Unity-based simulations, reporting results to the team.

Qualifications

• 3–4 years in Software QA Engineering, Test Automation, or similar.
• Hands-on HIL testing with robotics/embedded systems.
• Proficient in Python, C#, or a similar language.
• Experience automating HTTP and WebSocket APIs.
• Experience testing LLM/VLM systems.
• Experience VR/Unity-based testing.
• Strong defect lifecycle management using Jira.
• CI/CD integration of automated tests.

Responsibilities

• Test & Automation Design: design, develop, and maintain regression test suite focusing on integration stability.
• Hardware-in-the-Loop Testing: automated testing with physical hardware, real-time robotic test runs.
• XR Applications Testing: testing VR/Unity-based applications in robot simulation and teleoperation.
• Release Contribution & Reporting: generate test execution reports and communicate quality status.
• Process Improvement: identify bottlenecks and drive improvement in testing coverage.

Skills

QA Engineering

Test Automation

Python

C#

HTTP/WS APIs

LLM/VLM testing

VR/Unity testing

CI/CD

Jira

Tools

Jira

GitLab CI

Jenkins

Job description

Boston Dynamics seeks a highly technical Software Engineer in Test, to test the Atlas Humanoid Robot. In this critical, hands‑on role, you will be responsible for ensuring the reliability, safety, and performance of Atlas’s software systems, focusing heavily on metrics based system testing for reliability and performance. A key quality to be successful in this role is the exceptional ability to context‑switch and rapidly acquire technical understanding across diverse domains: from web interfaces and network protocols to robot behavior and ML model validation. If you thrive on learning fast, solving cross‑functional problems, and seeing your code directly impact a groundbreaking robot, this role is for you. Boston Dynamics is a world leader in mobile robots, tackling some of the toughest robotics challenges. For years, our awe‑inspiring viral videos on YouTube have shown the world what remarkably capable robots can do. Now we are quickly becoming a recognized leader in automation solutions for industrial applications and warehouse logistics.

What You’ll Do:

• Test & Automation Design: Design, develop, and maintain the comprehensive manual and automated overall regression test suite, focusing on integration stability. You will focus heavily on validating our teleoperation systems and action sequencing applications.
• Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) Testing: Perform automated testing with physical hardware in the loop, executing actual sequencing setups, physical interventions, and real‑time robotic test runs.
• XR Applications Testing: Drive the end‑to‑end quality of virtual environments by designing both automated and manual testing strategies for VR and Unity‑based applications used in robot simulation and operator teleoperation.
• Release Contribution & Reporting: Contribute to generating detailed Test Execution Reports for major milestones and releases, clearly documenting coverage and communicating quality status to the manager and development teams.
• Process Improvement: Identify bottlenecks and gaps in the SQA process and testing coverage, driving continuous improvement in execution efficiency and reliability.

Required Experience:

• 3–4 years of experience in Software QA Engineering, Test Automation, or Software Development, with a history of shipping and supporting product releases.
• Hands‑on experience with Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) manual testing, including physical test setup manipulation and live sequencing execution on robotics, automotive, or embedded systems.
• Strong proficiency in test automation with a solid base in Python, C#, or a similar language.
• Direct experience automating HTTP and WebSocket (WS) APIs is required.
• Demonstrated experience testing LLM / VLM systems, including evaluating model responses via manual prompting, API layers, and setting up quality assessment metrics.
• Experience executing both automated and manual test strategies for VR and Unity‑based applications, simulation software, or interactive 3D environments.
• Expertise in designing comprehensive test plans and executing functional, integration, and regression testing with strong manual rigor.
• Expertise in Defect Lifecycle Management using defect tracking systems (e.g., Jira) for precise defect reporting, verification, and analysis.
• Solid understanding of CI/CD practices and experience integrating and monitoring automated tests within continuous integration tools (e.g., Jenkins, GitLab CI).

Nice to Have Experience:

• Experience testing real‑time control systems or low‑latency teleoperation hardware/software.
• Familiarity with UI/UX and backend validation for complex workflow sequencing or orchestration applications.
• Operational familiarity with a Linux development environment (e.g., advanced bash/shell scripting).
• Experience with Root Cause Analysis on complex, cross‑functional system failures.

We are interested in every qualified candidate who is eligible to work in the United States. However, we are not able to sponsor visas for this position.

The salary range for this position will be clearly stated in the job posting as required by Massachusetts law. The base pay range for this position is between $88,,000 - $110,000. Base pay will depend on multiple individualized factors including, but not limited to internal equity, job related knowledge, skills and experience. This range represents a good faith estimate of compensation at the time of posting.

Boston Dynamics will never ask you to divulge your personal financial or account information as part of its recruiting process.

#LI-MD1 We are growing rapidly, building a commercial company that delivers cutting edge technology and solutions to our customers from industrial applications to logistics and warehouse solutions.