Boston Dynamics

Staff Software Engineer in Test

Boston Dynamics • $102K — $120K *
Consumer Technology
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 6-8 years in Software QA Engineering or Test Automation, with product release experience.
  • Experience testing complex electromechanical systems, particularly robotics or autonomous vehicles.
  • Proficient in test automation using Python, C#, or similar languages.
  • Experienced in setting up software reliability testing for robotic systems.
  • Strong skills in designing test plans and executing various testing types with manual rigor.
  • Familiar with defect lifecycle management using tools like Jira.
  • Understanding of CI/CD practices and experience with integrating automated tests into CI tools.

Responsibilities

  • Design and execute tests to assess application reliability, safety, and fault tolerance.
  • Automate testing scenarios using physical hardware in Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) setups.
  • Create detailed reports to communicate system stability and milestone readiness.
  • Identify process bottlenecks to enhance testing efficiency and reliability.
  • Drive continuous improvement initiatives within the software quality assurance (SQA) process.

Benefits

  • Cutting-edge work with a groundbreaking humanoid robot.
  • Opportunity for rapid learning and problem-solving across various technical domains.
  • Hands-on experience in advanced testing methodologies and system validation.
  • Collaborative environment with cross-functional team engagement.
Full Job Description

Boston Dynamics seeks a highly technical Staff Software Engineer in Test, to test the Atlas Humanoid Robot. In this critical, hands-on role, you will be responsible for ensuring the reliability, safety, and performance of Atlas’s software systems, focusing heavily on metrics based system testing for reliability and performance.


A key quality to be successful in this role is the exceptional ability to context-switch and rapidly acquire technical understanding across diverse domains: from web interfaces and network protocols to robot behavior and ML model validation. If you thrive on learning fast, solving cross-functional problems, and seeing your code directly impact a groundbreaking robot, this role is for you.


What You’ll Do:


  • Reliability Test & Automation Design: Design, develop, and plan execution to stress-test application resilience, safety, and fault tolerance.
  • Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) Testing: Use physical hardware in the loop to automate testing for various application scenarios.
  • Release Contribution & Reporting: Author comprehensive execution reports to validate milestone readiness and clearly communicate system stability.
  • Process Improvement: Identify bottlenecks and gaps in the SQA process and testing coverage, driving continuous improvement in execution efficiency and reliability.

Required Experience: 


  • 6-8 years of experience in Software QA Engineering, Test Automation, or Software Development, with a history of shipping and supporting product releases.
  • Proven experience in manual and automated testing of complex electromechanical systems (e.g., robotics, autonomous vehicles) including with physical hardware-in-the-loop (HIL).
  • Strong proficiency in test automation with a solid base in Python, C#, or a similar language. 
  • Demonstrated experience with setting up software reliability testing, monitoring and analysis for robotic systems.
  • Expertise in designing comprehensive test plans and executing functional, integration, and regression testing with strong manual rigor.
  • Expertise in Defect Lifecycle Management using defect tracking systems (e.g., Jira) for precise defect reporting, verification, and analysis.
  • Solid understanding of CI/CD practices and experience integrating and monitoring automated tests within continuous integration tools (e.g., Jenkins, GitLab CI).

Nice to Have Experience:


  • Experience testing real-time control systems or low-latency teleoperation hardware/software.
  • Familiarity with UI/UX and backend validation for complex workflow sequencing or orchestration applications.
  • Operational familiarity with a Linux development environment (e.g., advanced bash/shell scripting).
  • Experience with Root Cause Analysis on complex, cross-functional system failures.

We are interested in every qualified candidate who is eligible to work in the United States. However, we are not able to sponsor visas for this position.


The salary range for this position will be clearly stated in the job posting as required by Massachusetts law. The base pay range for this position is between $102,000 - $120,000. Base pay will depend on multiple individualized factors including, but not limited to internal equity, job related knowledge, skills and experience. This range represents a good faith estimate of compensation at the time of posting.


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About Boston Dynamics

Boston Dynamics is an American engineering and robotics design company founded in 1992 as a spin-off from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The company is best known for the development of BigDog, a quadruped robot designed for the U.S. military. Boston Dynamics has also developed a number of other robots, including Spot, a four-legged robot designed for indoor and outdoor operation, and Atlas, a humanoid robot designed for a variety of search and rescue tasks. In 2013, the company was acquired by Google X, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc. In 2020, the company was acquired by Hyundai Motor Group. Boston Dynamics is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts.
Learn more about Boston Dynamics
Size
300 employees
Industry
Founded
1992

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