Toptal: Senior Firmware QA Engineer

You will join a European engineering team to own end to end firmware QA and test automation for a large-scale wearable ecosystem (trackers, smart stations, accessories). This role is hands on in the lab, working with oscilloscopes, networked devices, and manufacturing partners to keep thousands of devices running reliably in the field.

Tasks and deliverables:

• Develop and maintain automated test suites for firmware using Robot Framework and Python, and ideally C++.
• Design, implement, and execute test plans for firmware releases on wearables and smart stations.
• Work hands on in the lab with oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, power supplies, network analyzers, and other test equipment to validate and debug behavior.
• Verify communication and network protocol behavior (for example Wi Fi, Bluetooth and other relevant wireless protocols) across devices and infrastructure (such as MQTT servers).
• Build automated test harnesses that run in CI pipelines to validate new firmware and hardware revisions.
• Collaborate with manufacturing teams (primarily in Hungary) to qualify new builds, improve test coverage, and refine manufacturing test processes.
• Analyze failures from manufacturing and internal testing, determine whether issues are firmware, hardware, or test related, and drive root cause analysis to closure.
• Create and maintain test documentation, including test cases, test reports, and coverage metrics.
• Contribute to CI/CD pipelines (for example GitHub Actions, Docker based workflows) to ensure reliable and repeatable firmware validation.
• Provide clear, data based feedback to firmware, hardware, and production stakeholders and participate in release go/no go decisions.

General Information:

• Role: Senior Firmware QA Engineer (Wearables / Embedded)
• Location: Den Bosch, Netherlands (hybrid, 2–3 days per week onsite in the lab)
• Commitment: Full time contractor
• Duration: Expected 6–12 months (realistically closer to 12 months)
• Timezone: Central European (CET) with standard overlap with European working hours
• Work style: Close collaboration with firmware, hardware, and manufacturing teams (Netherlands and Hungary)

• 5+ years of experience in firmware or embedded QA engineering for hardware based products.
• Strong understanding of embedded systems, microcontrollers, and how firmware interacts with hardware.
• Hands on experience with lab equipment such as oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, power measurement tools, and protocol analyzers.
• Proven experience building and maintaining test automation using Robot Framework and Python; exposure to C++ for tools or test harnesses is a strong plus.
• Comfortable working on and testing embedded Linux or similar platforms; Raspberry Pi or similar single board platforms is a plus.
• Familiarity with network and wireless protocols used in connected devices (for example Wi Fi, Bluetooth, MQTT, TCP/IP).
• Experience integrating automated tests into CI/CD pipelines (for example GitHub Actions, Jenkins, Docker).
• Previous collaboration with manufacturing or industrial test teams, ideally for high volume products.
• Strong problem solving mindset, able to move between firmware, hardware, and infrastructure when investigating issues.
• Solid version control practice with Git and modern branching / review workflows.
• Excellent communication skills in English, able to work cross functionally with distributed teams; Dutch is a plus but not required.