Test Automation Engineer Intern - Fall 2026

Redwood Materials; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 30,000 - 44,000; Full time

Job summary

Redwood Materials in San Francisco, CA, invites applications for a Test Automation Engineering Intern. You\'ll write Python to drive test rigs for firmware and hardware validation, build test stands, and debug failures across test code, firmware, or hardware.

You\'ll work with engineers to bring up new test capabilities, participate in CI pipelines, and present results at internship end. Strong Python skills, coursework in EE/CS, and familiarity with pytest are highly valued.

Qualifications

• Pursuing BS or MS in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Mechatronics, or a related field.
• Proficiency in Python, including ability to read and modify existing code.
• Experience writing automated tests with pytest or similar framework from coursework or internships.
• Familiarity with Git and PR-based development workflows.
• Solid circuit fundamentals and ability to read schematics and datasheets.
• Hands-on experience around energized equipment with safe lab practices.
• Familiarity with CAN, Modbus, SCPI, or similar protocols is a plus.
• Comfort with Linux command line.

Responsibilities

• Write and maintain Python test automation for firmware and hardware validation using pytest and internal frameworks.
• Develop drivers and tooling for programmable power supplies, electronic loads, data acquisition, and switching hardware.
• Help bring up new test stands from fixtures to software that sequences them.
• Investigate real failures on real equipment using traces and logs to locate root causes.
• Contribute regression coverage to CI pipelines to validate firmware changes.
• Document test processes and support bringing test systems toward production.
• Own a scoped project end to end and present results to the engineering team.

Skills

Python

pytest automation

Git

Linux CLI

CAN/Modbus familiarity

Electrical fundamentals

Hardware testing

Education

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

Tools

SCPI

Data acquisition

Job description

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 unithas tobe proven safe and reliable before it ships. That proof comes fromtest: the automated systems that exercise the firmware and electronics inside our products and decide whetherthey'reready for the field.

Our test engineering team builds those systems — the test stands on the production floor, the hardware-in-the-loop benches thatvalidatefirmware releases, and the CI pipelines that tie them together. As a Test Automation Engineering Intern,you'llwork alongside ourengineersbuilding the next generation of this test capability.You'llwrite Python that drives real instruments and real battery hardware,helpbring 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 isa great opportunityto apply whatyou'velearned 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'llown 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.

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].