About the role
About the Team
The QA Software Engineering team is responsible for ensuring the quality and reliability of our device software. We design and maintain automated test frameworks, hardware-in-the-loop labs, and release pipelines that keep quality signals trustworthy and enable rapid, safe product launches. Our work spans infrastructure, automation, and cross-team collaboration to ensure every release meets the highest standards.
About the Role
As a QA Software Engineer, you will own automated validation of our device software—from test frameworks and regression testing to hardware-in-the-loop labs and release gates. You’ll build the systems that keep quality signals trustworthy, wire them into CI/CD, and make it easy for QA vendor technicians to execute repeatable procedures.
We’re looking for engineers with deep experience in software quality, automation, and hardware-software integration who thrive on building scalable, reliable validation systems.
This role is based in San Francisco, CA. We use a hybrid work model of four days in the office per week and offer relocation assistance to new employees.
In this role, you will:
Test infrastructure & frameworks: Design, implement, and maintain a unified test framework for device software (unit, integration, system/end-to-end), with adapters for GitHub/Linear/Slack and reproducible runs.
CI/CD integration & releases: Integrate test suites with Buildkite, enforce promotion criteria (staging/prod), auto-file regressions, and publish traceable artifacts and release notes.
Hardware-in-the-loop lab design & orchestration: Plan and bring up racks, power/networking, and orchestration for device testing; support automated flashing, provisioning, and telemetry capture.
Automation tooling: Develop tools for API/firmware validation, result triage, log capture, and replayable bug reports.
Quality signals, metrics, and flake control: Stand up dashboards and alerts for pass rates, stability, and release readiness; detect and quarantine flaky tests; drive root-cause analysis with owners; and track DORA-style delivery metrics to guard release health.
Vendor enablement: Write clear procedures for QA vendor technicians, review their reports, and maintain a queue of rig maintenance/repairs.
Cross-team collaboration: Partner with embedded/system software teams on testability and with release infrastructure engineers on pipelines, signing, rollouts, and rollback/forward strategies.
You might thrive in this role if you:
Have deep experience in software quality/test engineering for hardware products shipped at scale, with a strong automation focus.
Are proficient in Python, C, C++, or Rust, and have solid Linux fundamentals (processes, networking, storage, udev/systemd).
Have experience building CI/CD pipelines, artifact management, and environment isolation.
Have demonstrated success designing and operating hardware-in-the-loop labs and device orchestration at scale.
Are fluent with test reliability techniques such as failure triage, flake detection/quarantine, and signal quality guardrails.
(Nice to have) Experience with device-lab frameworks (e.g., LAVA, OpenHTF) and results pipelines (dashboards/alerting).
(Nice to have) Knowledge of release-readiness safeguards: staged rollouts, rollback plans, and signed firmware/software artifacts in CI/CD.
About OpenAI
OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company dedicated to ensuring that general-purpose artificial intelligence benefits all of humanity. We push the boundaries of the capabilities of AI systems and seek to safely deploy them to the world through our products. AI is an extremely powerful tool that must be created with safety and human needs at its core, and to achieve our mission, we must encompass and value the many different perspectives, voices, and experiences that form the full spectrum of humanity.
Aplyr's read
OpenAI is a pioneering AI research organization focused on developing AGI to benefit humanity, attracting talent keen on ethical and innovative AI solutions.
What's promising
- •OpenAI is at the forefront of AI research, driving innovation in artificial general intelligence.
- •The company emphasizes ethical AI development, appealing to those passionate about responsible technology.
- •OpenAI offers diverse roles across engineering, sales, and creative fields, indicating a dynamic work environment.
What to watch
- •OpenAI's rapid growth may lead to organizational challenges and resource strain.
- •The focus on AGI poses inherent risks and ethical dilemmas that require careful navigation.
- •Limited public information about internal culture and work-life balance may concern potential applicants.
Why OpenAI
- •OpenAI's mission to ensure AGI benefits all of humanity sets it apart in the tech industry.
- •The organization combines cutting-edge research with a strong emphasis on ethical AI practices.
- •OpenAI's diverse hiring across global markets reflects its commitment to international impact and collaboration.
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About OpenAI
OpenAI is an artificial intelligence research organization that aims to ensure that artificial general intelligence (AGI) benefits all of humanity. They develop advanced AI technologies and promote safe and responsible AI practices.
