Test Engineer

Cognesense; Hillside (IL); On-site; USD 85,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Cognesense is seeking a motivated Test Engineer to support validation and verification of embedded hardware and firmware for industrial measurement and control systems. The role focuses on reliability, compliance, and testing in oil & gas, wastewater, hazardous, and clean industrial environments.

You'll design and run advanced test environments, execute V&V tests, and collaborate with hardware, firmware, and regulatory teams to ensure products meet performance and safety standards.

Qualifications

• Requires a bachelor’s degree in electrical/computer engineering or related field.
• 3-5+ years of experience testing embedded hardware and firmware.
• Proven ability to write structured test plans, procedures, and reports.
• Experience with temperature cycling, EMI/EMC testing, and industrial protocols.

Responsibilities

• Understand product requirements and develop comprehensive test plans and test procedures.
• Execute verification and validation testing for embedded hardware and firmware systems.
• Design, develop, and maintain advanced test environments including temperature cycle and thermal stress testing, EMI/EMC compliance testing, and environmental and reliability testing.
• Validate industrial communication protocols including MODBUS (RTU & TCP/IP), Ethernet-to-MODBUS gateways, and RS485 communication.
• Design and build custom test fixtures and automation setups.
• Perform system-level validation of radar, level measurement, temperature, density, BSW, and detection systems.
• Support hazardous location certifications including FM Approvals, UL, and ATEX requirements.
• Analyze test data, document results, and generate formal validation reports.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with hardware, firmware, mechanical, manufacturing, and regulatory teams.
• Participate in design reviews and contribute to continuous product improvement.

Skills

Embedded testing

Test plan writing

Firmware testing

Hazardous-location awareness

Team collaboration

Education

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

Tools

EMI/EMC testing equipment

Temperature cycling equipment

MODBUS/RS485 testing protocols

Job description

Role Mandate: Support validation and verification of embedded hardware and firmware for Cognesense's industrial measurement and control systems - designing and running advanced test environments that ensure reliability and compliance for products operating in oil & gas, wastewater, hazardous, and clean industrial applications.

About Cognesense

Cognesense is a worldwide environmental technology company with operations and customers in over 100 countries. We exist because the world's most regulated industries need a partner they can trust to measure, monitor, and protect everything they are accountable for. One partner, one platform, one integrated set of capabilities that covers the full stack from physical sensors to AI-driven intelligence.

To make that real, we brought together ten heritage engineering brands, some dating back over a century, each a leader in its field. Varec, trusted by 600+ U.S. defense bases and the world's busiest airports for fuel management. L&J Technologies, the standard in tank level gauging and overfill prevention. Shand & Jurs, protecting tank integrity since 1922. Sonitus Systems, with 13,000+ environmental monitoring points worldwide. Pyroban, the global authority in explosion protection. And five more, each with deep customer trust and domain expertise that took decades to build.

Now we are working to turn those brands into something greater than the sum of their parts. Shared technology. Shared operations. Shared go-to-market. The goal is a company that can walk into a refinery, a terminal, an airport, a biogas plant, or a defense installation and serve the full scope of what that customer needs.

We are still early in that journey. We are actively integrating, learning as we go, and building the shared infrastructure and operational playbook that will let us absorb new acquisitions and run them well. Hillside is where that playbook comes to life.

Position Overview

We are seeking a motivated and detail-oriented Test Engineer to support validation and verification of embedded hardware and firmware for industrial measurement and control systems. Our products operate in oil & gas, wastewater, hazardous environments, and clean industrial applications where reliability and compliance are critical.

Key Responsibilities

• Understand product requirements and develop comprehensive test plans and test procedures.
• Execute verification and validation testing for embedded hardware and firmware systems.
• Design, develop, and maintain advanced test environments including temperature cycle and thermal stress testing, EMI/EMC compliance testing, and environmental and reliability testing.
• Validate industrial communication protocols including MODBUS (RTU & TCP/IP), Ethernet-to-MODBUS gateways, and RS485 communication.
• Design and build custom test fixtures and automation setups.
• Perform system-level validation of radar, level measurement, temperature, density, BSW, and detection systems.
• Support hazardous location certifications including FM Approvals, UL, and ATEX requirements.
• Analyze test data, document results, and generate formal validation reports.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with hardware, firmware, mechanical, manufacturing, and regulatory teams.
• Participate in design reviews and contribute to continuous product improvement.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field.
• 3-5+ years of experience testing embedded hardware and firmware.
• Proven ability to write structured test plans, procedures, and reports.
• Hands-on experience with temperature cycling, EMI/EMC testing, and industrial communication protocols.
• Knowledge of hazardous-area standards and industrial instrumentation preferred.
• Strong teamwork, communication, and problem-solving skills.
• Experience in oil & gas or wastewater industries is a plus.

Reliability and compliance are the job. It is built for a detail-oriented test engineer who validates embedded hardware and firmware for mission-critical industrial environments - oil & gas, wastewater, and hazardous locations - where failure is not an option.