Test Automation Engineer Intern - Fall 2026

Socket.dev; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 41,000 - 48,000; Full time

Job summary

Redwood Materials in San Francisco area is offering a Test Automation Engineering Intern role. You will write Python to drive hardware-in-the-loop tests and help bring up new test stands for battery-related hardware and firmware validation.

You will work with engineers, apply coursework to production test systems, and receive mentorship while handling end-to-end test projects and contributing to CI pipelines and test documentation.

Qualifications

• Candidate pursuing a BS or MS in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Mechatronics, or related field.
• Proficiency in Python and comfortable modifying existing code.
• Experience writing automated tests with pytest or similar frameworks.
• Experience with Git and PR-based workflows.
• Solid understanding of circuit basics and hardware interaction.
• Familiarity with CAN, Modbus, SCPI, or similar protocols.
• Comfort with Linux command line and debugging on real hardware.

Responsibilities

• Write and maintain Python test automation for firmware and hardware validation, using pytest and internal frameworks.
• Develop drivers for programmable power supplies, electronic loads, data acquisition, and related hardware interfaces.
• Bring up new test stands from bench to software control and expand validation capabilities.
• Investigate failures across test code, fixtures, and units under test.
• Contribute to CI pipelines to automate regression testing.
• Document processes and participate in transitioning test systems toward production.
• Own a scoped project end-to-end and present results to the engineering team.

Skills

Python

pytest

Git

CAN

Modbus

SCPI

Linux

Education

BS or MS in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Mechatronics, or related field

Job description

About Redwood Materials

Redwood is localizing a global battery supply chain that seamlessly integrates recovery, reuse, and recycling — keeping critical minerals in circulation and driving the energy transition. Founded in 2017, we’re delivering low-cost and large-scale energy storage and producing battery materials in the U.S. for the first time, all from batteries we already have.

Test Automation Engineering Intern

Redwood Energy is building some of the fastest, lowest-cost energy storage in the U.S. from both new battery modules and second-life EV packs. Second-life hardware arrives with a history — different chemistries, capacities, and states of health — and every unit has to be proven safe and reliable before it ships. That proof comes from test: the automated systems that exercise the firmware and electronics inside our products and decide whether they're ready for the field.

Our test engineering team builds those systems — the test stands on the production floor, the hardware-in-the-loop benches that validate firmware releases, and the CI pipelines that tie them together. As a Test Automation Engineering Intern, you'll work alongside our engineers building the next generation of this test capability. You'll write Python that drives real instruments and real battery hardware, help bring up new test stands from the bench up, and debug failures where the root cause could live in the test code, the firmware, or the unit under test. This is a great opportunity to apply what you've learned in coursework to production test systems, with mentorship from experienced engineers along the way.

Responsibilities will include:

• Test Automation: Write and maintain Python test automation for firmware and hardware validation, using pytest and our internal test frameworks.
• Instrument Control: Develop drivers and tooling for programmable power supplies, electronic loads, data acquisition, and switching hardware over protocols like SCPI, CAN, and Modbus.
• Test Stand Bring-Up: Help bring up new test stands — from fixtures and wiring through the software that sequences them — as we expand our validation capability.
• System Debugging: Investigate real failures on real equipment, using CAN traces, instrument logs, and bench tools to determine whether the fault lies in the test code, the fixture, or the unit under test.
• Continuous Integration: Add regression coverage to our CI pipelines so firmware changes are validated automatically rather than by hand.
• Documentation & Process: Contribute to documentation and test processes that support taking test systems from prototype toward production.
• You’ll own a scoped project end to end and present your results to the engineering team at the close of the internship.

Desired Qualifications:

• Background: Currently pursuing a BS or MS in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Mechatronics, or a related field.
• Programming Foundations: Working proficiency in Python, including comfort reading and modifying a codebase you did not write.
• Testing Experience: Experience writing automated tests with pytest or a comparable framework, from coursework, projects, or prior internships.
• Version Control: Experience with Git and a pull-request-based development workflow.
• EE Fundamentals: Solid grasp of circuit basics — voltage, current, resistance, and power, and how they relate — sufficient to predict what a measurement should read and recognize when it doesn't.
• Hardware Fundamentals: Able to read a schematic, wiring diagram, or datasheet and act on it; hands-on experience working safely around energized equipment — power supplies, loads, or battery hardware — from lab work, projects, or prior internships.
• Communication Protocols: Familiarity with CAN, Modbus, SCPI, or other instrument and industrial protocols is a plus, even if only from classwork or personal projects.
• Linux: Familiarity with the Linux command line is a plus.
• Curiosity & Rigor: A safety-conscious mindset, strong attention to detail, and eagerness to learn how production test systems are built. Prior industry or energy storage experience is not expected.

In accordance with California pay transparency laws, the salary range for this position is listed below. Actual compensation may vary based on a variety of factors, including experience, education, and skills.

California Pay Range: $41 — $47.50 USD

The position is full-time. Compensation will be commensurate with experience.

We collect personal information (PI) from you in connection with your application for employment with Redwood Materials, including the following categories of PI: identifiers, personal records, professional or employment information, and inferences drawn from your PI. We collect your PI for our purposes, including performing services and operations related to your potential employment. If you have additional privacy-related questions, please contact us at [e-mail].