Senior Software and Firmware QA Engineer

A Day in Your Life at MKS:

As a Senior Software and Firmware QA Engineer, you will work with global firmware, software, hardware, systems, application engineering, and product teams to ensure the quality of industrial controller products.

You will combine hands-on system testing, test automation, defect investigation, and quality leadership across embedded firmware, software applications, communication interfaces, and hardware-software integration.

Your work will include reviewing requirements, building risk-based test coverage, operating laboratory test setups, analyzing logs and traces, and providing clear release-quality recommendations.

You will help improve test methods, automation, infrastructure, and engineering practices while mentoring QA engineers and driving issues to closure.

You Will Make an Impact By:

Owning end-to-end software, firmware, and system validation activities, including test strategy, coverage, quality metrics, risk assessment, and release recommendations.

Developing and executing test plans, test cases, and test procedures for embedded firmware, desktop applications, Windows- or Linux-based tools, APIs, services, user interfaces, and industrial control software.

Performing functional, integration, system, regression, performance, reliability, compatibility, negative, and exploratory testing.

Validating communication and interaction between software, firmware, hardware, and external devices.

Designing, developing, and maintaining automated test frameworks, reusable libraries, regression suites, and test-reporting solutions.

Integrating automated tests into CI/CD pipelines and improving automated build, execution, reporting, and traceability workflows.

Identifying, documenting, prioritizing, and tracking defects with clear reproduction steps, logs, traces, and supporting evidence.

Analyzing software logs, crash information, network traffic, protocol traces, hardware signals, and test results to isolate system-level failures.

Maintaining QA environments, hardware-in-the-loop setups, simulators, automated fixtures, laboratory equipment, and test data.

Collaborating with globally distributed development teams, communicating quality risks clearly, and mentoring QA engineers.

Skills You Bring:

Bachelor's degree in Electronics Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.

8+ years of hands-on experience in software QA, firmware QA, embedded-system validation, or system verification, including ownership of complex validation activities.

Strong knowledge of software testing methodologies, SDLC, STLC, defect lifecycle, requirement traceability, risk-based testing, and release-quality practices.

Experience creating test strategies, test plans, test cases, test procedures, validation reports, quality metrics, and release summaries.

Hands-on experience testing desktop, client-server, API, user-interface, embedded, or industrial control applications.

Proficiency in Python, C#, or a similar programming language used for test automation.

Experience developing maintainable automated test frameworks and integrating tests into CI/CD environments.

Experience with API and UI testing tools such as Postman, Selenium, Playwright, or equivalent tools.

Experience analyzing logs, traces, crash data, network traffic, and system behavior to investigate complex failures.

Hands-on experience with oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, protocol analyzers, or comparable debugging equipment.

Excellent analytical, problem-solving, documentation, and English communication skills, with the ability to work effectively across global teams.

Preferred Skills:

Experience testing embedded systems, real-time systems, and hardware-software integrated products.

Experience with defect and requirements tracking tools such as Jira, Azure DevOps, or equivalent systems.

Experience with version control using Git and repository platforms such as GitLab, Azure Repos, or equivalent systems.

Experience with hardware-in-the-loop testing, simulators, automated test fixtures, and laboratory infrastructure.

Knowledge of industrial communication protocols such as EtherCAT, DeviceNet, Modbus TCP.

ISTQB Foundation, Advanced, Test Automation Engineer, or an equivalent software-testing certification.

Familiarity with IEC 61508, IEC 62443, ISO 26262, cybersecurity testing, or comparable regulated and safety-related standards.

Ability to mentor QA engineers and technically lead quality, automation, and continuous-improvement initiatives.

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Globally, our policy is to recruit individuals from wide and diverse backgrounds. However, certain positions require access to controlled goods and technologies subject to various export control regulations. Applicants for these positions may be limited (by, for example, their countries of citizenship, country of origin, or immigration status) where required by law or governmental contact, and/or employment made contingent upon the issuance of appropriate governmental licensing.

MKS Inc. and its affiliates and subsidiaries (“MKS”) is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer: diverse candidates are encouraged to apply. We win as a team and are committed to recruiting and hiring qualified applicants regardless of race, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions), religion, age, ancestry, physical or mental disability or handicap, marital status, membership in the uniformed services, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, or any other category protected by applicable law. Hiring decisions are based on merit, qualifications and business needs. We conduct background checks and drug screens, in accordance with applicable law and company policies. MKS is generally only hiring candidates who reside in states where we are registered to do business.

MKS is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation during the application or interview process due to a disability, please contact us at: accommodationsatMKS@mksinst.com .

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