Staff Software Test Automation Engineer

Requirements:

• Bachelors degree in Computer Science or a related field and 10+ years of professional experience, or a masters degree and 9+ years of experience in SDET, embedded testing, or software engineering.
• Demonstrated leadership of complex automation projects from design through implementation, with the ability to perform exploratory manual testing and design technical test cases.
• Hands-on software development experience in Python and C++, with the ability to debug and contribute to varied codebases, including Bash scripts.
• Proficiency using AI coding assistants to improve productivity, along with the judgment to validate and refine AI-generated solutions for integrity and maintainability.
• Professional experience testing and validating systems in at least three of these areas: cloud computing, embedded systems, networking, IoT with RTOS, controls, MIL/SIL/PIL simulations, emulators, or complex algorithms.
• Preferred: Experience with Docker, Kubernetes, and Ansible.
• Preferred: Proficiency with tools and workflows such as Jira, Xray, GitLab, or equivalents.

Responsibilities:

• Architect, scale, and maintain hardware test beds, reusable test automation frameworks, software tools, and CI/CD pipelines.
• Develop test plans, test cases, technical approaches, and traceability matrices to validate complex hardware and software integrations and address system-level bottlenecks.
• Lead failure analysis, debug and diagnose testing issues, and advance risk mitigation to support stable testing and reliable environments.
• Establish risk-based testing strategies and assess risks to ensure comprehensive coverage of critical-path functionality.
• Collaborate with development teams and cross-functional engineering partners to diagnose system anomalies and evaluate new technologies.
• Lead validation and automation strategy for the interaction of real-time embedded software, predictive control loops, and multi-fuel dynamics.

Technologies:

• AI
• Ansible
• Architect
• Bash
• CI/CD
• Cloud
• Docker
• Embedded
• GitLab
• Hardware
• IoT
• Support
• JIRA
• Kubernetes
• Python
• ASP.NET
• DevOps
• LESS

More

We are Mainspring Energy, a manufacturer of fuel-flexible, low-emissions local power solutions designed to add capacity quickly and provide reliable, affordable, sustainable electricity. Since beginning commercial shipments of our Linear Generators in 2020, we have advanced development and field operations totaling hundreds of megawatts for major companies, data centers, and utilities, and we partner with global energy leaders. Our generator uses a low-temperature, non-combustion thermochemical reaction and can switch fuels under load, including natural gas, biogas/RNG, propane, hydrogen, and ammonia. Our work is guided by pragmatic optimism, excellence without ego, and proactive collaboration. This senior staff role is based at our Menlo Park headquarters in a hybrid onsite and remote arrangement. Compensation is adjusted for location and experience; we offer pre-IPO stock options and benefits. We welcome applicants who may not meet every listed qualification and are committed to a diverse, inclusive, flexible, and collaborative workplace. We are an equal opportunity employer. AI tools may assist our recruitment team, but people make final hiring decisions.

last updated 44 week of 2026