Systems Quality Engineer - Accessory Ecosystem

Socket.dev; Cupertino (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Socket.dev is seeking a hands-on QA Engineer to own the quality of how devices, accessories, and power sources interact—from early prototypes through release—and to partner with cross-functional teams on the validation strategy.

You’ll build automation tooling in Python or C/C++, apply QA methodology to hardware products, and mentor others to raise the bar on reliability and customer impact. Clear communication and solid debugging skills are essential.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required in EE, CS, or related field.
• 3+ years experience in test automation or analysis tooling.
• Experience with hardware or consumer electronics QA.
• Experience with hardware protocol validation (USB, PCIe, I2C, SPI).

Responsibilities

• Own the quality of how devices, accessories, and power sources interact—from prototype through release.
• Develop automation covering long-lived tooling for QA and validation.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to improve testing coverage and reliability.
• Communicate findings clearly and influence design decisions to reduce customer impact.

Skills

Test automation tooling

QA methodology

Test planning

Test execution

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or related field

Tools

Python

C/C++

Job description

Customers plug an accessory into an Apple product and expect it to just work. We find the problems customers would have run into, before they do. Our team validates that experience between Apple products like iPhone, iPad, and Mac — and the accessories and power sources customers rely on. Your work will impact several of Apple's product lines and a wide range of accessories customers connect to them. We're looking for a hands-on engineer who will own the quality of their projects, who isn't afraid to speak up when they believe an approach is wrong or a product isn't ready, and who wants the tooling they build to expand what the whole team can do.

Description

On your projects, you'll own the quality of how Apple devices, accessories, and power sources interact — from early prototypes through release — and partner teams will come to you on them. Much of that is automation, and the coverage you build outlasts the project.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field
• 3+ years of industry experience developing test automation or analysis tooling in Python or C/C++
• Experience with QA methodology, test planning, and execution for hardware or consumer electronics products
• Experience with hardware protocol-level validation or firmware validation (e.g., USB, PCIe, I2C, SPI)
• Clear written and verbal communication skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience reviewing others' code and guiding less-experienced engineers on design and quality
• Understanding of USB-PD power negotiation, Type-C specifications, and port controller firmware behavior
• Experience using AI tooling to move faster on automation and analysis, with the judgment to catch where its output is wrong
• Experience finding the issues that matter before release, and quantifying their customer impact