Senior Robotics QA Automation Engineer

About Our Team
Chef Robotics is on a mission to accelerate the advent of intelligent machines in the physical world. As the rise of LLMs like ChatGPT has shown, AI has the potential to drive immense change. However, we believe AI’s biggest impact will be in the physical world, given industries like manufacturing, food, and transportation represent 90% of global GDP. We're starting with food, with a goal to put an intelligent robot in every commercial kitchen in the world. We have signed multiple multi-year contracts with various large food companies and we are growing fast. We're backed by investors like Kleiner Perkins, Construct, Bloomberg BETA and Promus Ventures. We have a great team, where you will be surrounded by talented engineers and tech leaders from companies like Cruise, Zoox, Google, Verb Surgical, Tesla, Nuro, Vicarious, Amazon Robotics, Strateos, Built Robotics, Facebook, Plenty, Yelp, and Microsoft.
About the Role
As the Senior Robotics QA Automation Engineer, you will assume technical leadership in the design and implementation of automated test frameworks. These frameworks will be critical in validating the performance, accuracy, and safety of our robotics systems. This role necessitates operating at the intersection of robotics, perception, and AI, requiring the development of advanced testing solutions to ensure adherence to the demanding standards of commercial food automation operations.

Test Automation Framework Development

• Architect and construct scalable automated test frameworks for robotic systems, encompassing the integration of hardware, software, and conveyor systems.
• Develop specialized testing frameworks tailored to food automation operations, including validation of picking and placement accuracy.
• Establish simulation environments to accurately replicate real-world production conditions and variations in packaging.
• Implement HMI interface automation to ensure thorough validation of operator interactions with packaging systems.

Test Strategy Formulation

• Formulate comprehensive test strategies that address functional, performance, safety, and reliability aspects of robotic food automation systems.
• Define test coverage metrics and quality gates to be incorporated into continuous deployment pipelines.
• Establish automated regression test suites to validate system performance across a diverse range of product types and packaging scenarios.
• Develop methodologies for validating conveyor-robot synchronization and adherence to timing constraints.

Technical Execution

• Develop and execute automated tests for robotic movements, vision system accuracy, and packaging precision.
• Construct automated tests for scenarios involving multi-robot coordination and conveyor handoffs.
• Implement data analysis tools to identify patterns in system performance and failure conditions.

Collaboration and Mentorship

• Mentor and provide guidance to junior QA engineers in automation best practices.
• Engage in collaborative efforts with robotics engineers to gain a comprehensive understanding of system architecture and to define testing requirements.
• Collaborate with product teams to translate customer requirements into detailed test scenarios.
• Partner with the platform team to integrate testing into CI/CD pipelines for both software and firmware components.

Technical Expertise

• Minimum of seven years of experience in QA automation engineering, with at least three years specifically focused on robotics or automation systems.
• Proficiency in Python programming, with proven experience in utilizing test automation frameworks such as Pytest, Robot Framework, or similar.
• Experience with robot simulation tools (ROS, Gazebo) and a solid understanding of robotics control systems.
• Competence in utilizing CI/CD tools (Jenkins, GitLab, GitHub Actions) and integrating automated tests into deployment pipelines.
• Demonstrated experience testing systems involving conveyor integrations and industrial control interfaces.

Testing Proficiencies

• Comprehensive understanding of test automation principles, design patterns, and best practices.
• Experience in designing test frameworks from initiation for complex systems.
• Knowledge of performance testing methodologies and associated tools.
• Understanding of testing principles for safety-critical systems.
• Experience with hardware-in-the-loop testing methodologies.

Desired Qualifications

• Experience with computer vision & machine learning testing 
• Experience with industrial automation or manufacturing systems.
• Familiarity with PLC testing and integration validation.
• Experience in testing multi-robot coordination.
• Background in packaging or production line automation.

Equal Opportunity Employer
We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, citizen status, uniform service member and veteran status, marital status, age, pregnancy status, protected medical condition, genetic information, disability, or any other protected status.
Multiple studies have found that a higher percentage of women and BIPOC candidates won't apply if they don't meet every listed qualification. Chef values candidates of all backgrounds. If you find yourself excited by our mission but you don't check every box in the description, we encourage you to apply anyway!