Staff Hardware Validation Engineer - Austin, Texas, United States
Originally posted 7 July 2026 by the employer.
About the role
This role defines and executes the validation and verification of complex electronic systems throughout the product lifecycle. You will develop board-level validation strategies, conduct hands-on laboratory testing, analyze failures, and collaborate directly with ODM partners to qualify products prior to mass production.
What you'll do
- Define comprehensive board-level and inter-board validation plans covering functional, electrical, thermal, power, signal integrity, reliability, and stress testing. - Perform board bring-up, electrical characterization, power sequencing verification, and temperature and voltage corner testing on prototype and production-intent hardware. - Operate laboratory equipment including oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, spectrum analyzers, power analyzers, TDRs, VNAs, and environmental chambers. - Develop, automate, and execute test suites using Python, LabVIEW, MATLAB, or similar tools for functional checks, firmware validation, and regression testing. - Investigate hardware failures and validation escapes through root-cause analysis and controlled failure-injection tests. - Partner with ODM teams and contract manufacturers to align validation procedures, review qualification reports, and drive defect resolution.
What you'll need
- Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field. - 7+ years of board-level hardware validation experience with digital and mixed-signal electronic systems. - Experience validating high-speed interfaces such as PCIe, USB, Ethernet, DDR, MIPI, SPI, I2C, or UART. - Hands-on experience with laboratory instrumentation, measurement techniques, and hardware debugging. - Experience developing test automation scripts using Python, LabVIEW, MATLAB, or similar tools. - Experience collaborating with ODMs, contract manufacturers, or external engineering partners, along with willingness to travel domestically and internationally as needed.
Nice to have
- Experience with server, networking, embedded, AI/ML hardware, or datacenter platforms. - Experience supporting NPI and manufacturing ramp activities. - Experience with schematic review and PCB design fundamentals. - Ability to read and interpret component datasheets to determine electrical specifications, timing requirements, and operating limits.
This role has been open 106 days — below the 112-day median for Silicon Test Engineering roles.
Silicon Test Engineering · Silicon Validation
|
Open roles in category
192
|
Median days open
112 d
|
Median salary
$129k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, and who else is hiring
| Metric | Graphcore | All employers we track in this specialty (192 roles · 57 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 6 | 192 |
| Open roles in the wider Silicon Validation & Test family | 47 | 2244 · 112 employers |
| Median days open | 112 d | 112 d (same as this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $129k |
Who's hiring in this category
- Teradyne · 14 open roles · median 115 d
- Renesas Electronics · 12 open roles · median 103 d
- Qualcomm · 11 open roles · median 114 d
- onsemi · 10 open roles · median 136 d
- Infineon Technologies · 9 open roles · median 118 d
- Marvell Technology · 9 open roles · median 118 d
How we counted: 192 open Silicon Test Engineering (Silicon Validation) roles from 57 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 21 Oct 2026. Specialty figures count only roles carrying this exact specialty label, so an employer's related work in neighbouring specialties is not included there — it is counted in the wider Silicon Validation & Test family row. Figures refresh nightly.