T
Electrical Hardware Test Engineer
Accepting applicationsthrively · Santa Clara, CA
Full-Time Mid_senior AIASICFPGAPython
Posted
3d ago
Category
Manufacturing
Experience
Mid_senior
Country
United States
Electrical Hardware Test Engineer
About the Opportunity
Thrively is partnering with a well-funded, venture-backed deep-tech startup developing next-generation optical switching technology for AI and hyperscale data centers.
The company is building a highly differentiated, chip-scale optical switching platform designed to address some of the fundamental connectivity, power, and scalability challenges created by increasingly large GPU clusters. Its technology combines silicon photonics, MEMS, advanced electronics, ASICs, and embedded systems to enable significantly more efficient connectivity within next-generation AI infrastructure.
As the company moves its technology from development toward production, we're looking for a highly hands-on Electrical Hardware Test Engineer who can take broad ownership across electrical test, board-level hardware, validation, and prototype development.
The Role
This is not a narrowly defined test execution role.
You'll develop custom test systems for semiconductors and PCBAs, find creative ways to test difficult components, debug complex electrical issues, and validate ASICs, circuit boards, and subsystems as they progress from prototype into production.
You'll also contribute directly to PCB design and prototype development, giving you an opportunity to work across much more of the hardware lifecycle than you might find within a larger, more segmented engineering organization.
We're particularly interested in engineers who enjoy getting into the lab, building things themselves, solving ambiguous hardware problems, and taking ownership from design → build → bring-up → test → debug → production.
What You'll Do
Custom Test System Development
Design, build, and program custom electrical test stations for ASICs, PCBAs, and other electronic subsystems
Develop creative test approaches for components and systems that don't have an off-the-shelf test solution
Evaluate and select test equipment, fixtures, sockets, wafer probers, and related hardware
Work with third-party vendors to procure or develop specialized test equipment
Integrate instrumentation, custom electronics, fixtures, and software into automated test systems
Develop test automation and custom test protocols
PCB & Electronics Development
Design R&D, production-test, and product circuit boards
Develop architecture/block diagrams and select components
Perform schematic design and contribute to PCB layout
Manage PCB fabrication and assembly
Bring up and verify newly built hardware
Perform hands-on board-level debugging using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, power supplies, electronic loads, multimeters, and other bench equipment
Identify root causes of electrical failures and drive corrective actions
Develop and execute validation plans for prototypes and production test systems
Participate in FMEA/FMECA activities
Create engineering, test, and manufacturing documentation
Cross-Functional Product Development
You'll work closely with engineers across:
ASIC development
Firmware and embedded systems
FPGA
Silicon photonics
MEMS
Mechanical engineering
Manufacturing and product development
You'll also help establish scalable electrical test methodologies as the company's technology moves toward higher-volume production.
What We're Looking For
BS or MS in Electrical Engineering
Approximately 5–8+ years of industry experience in electrical hardware test, validation, or design
Strong hands-on experience with PCBAs, board bring-up, electrical debugging, and hardware validation
Experience developing test automation using Python or a similar scripting language
Excellent laboratory skills using oscilloscopes, multimeters, power supplies, waveform generators, electronic loads, logic analyzers, and related instrumentation
Ability to troubleshoot hardware at the board and component level and perform structured root-cause analysis
Experience or demonstrated capability with PCB design, schematic capture, and board development
Experience with Altium Designer; schematic and layout experience strongly preferred
Familiarity with embedded systems and hardware/software integration
Hands-on soldering capability, including components down to approximately 0402
Strong technical communication and documentation skills
Particularly Relevant Experience
Experience in any of the following would be especially valuable:
Semiconductor or ASIC test
Wafer-level testing or wafer probers
Custom electrical test fixtures
Automated hardware validation systems
PCB/PCBA design and development
NPI and transition from prototype to production
Silicon photonics, optical hardware, or high-speed electronics
FMEA/FMECA or reliability engineering
Why This Opportunity?
This role should be particularly compelling for an engineer who has worked within a larger organization where responsibilities are divided between R&D, electrical design, validation, test, and manufacturing, but who now wants broader ownership.
Rather than simply receiving finished hardware and executing validation against it, you'll have the opportunity to influence how the hardware is designed, build the systems used to test it, bring up new boards, debug failures at the component level, and help move a fundamentally new technology toward production.
It's a highly hands-on environment with significant technical ownership and direct exposure to a multidisciplinary team working at the intersection of AI infrastructure, semiconductors, silicon photonics, MEMS, and advanced hardware development.
Show more Show less
About the Opportunity
Thrively is partnering with a well-funded, venture-backed deep-tech startup developing next-generation optical switching technology for AI and hyperscale data centers.
The company is building a highly differentiated, chip-scale optical switching platform designed to address some of the fundamental connectivity, power, and scalability challenges created by increasingly large GPU clusters. Its technology combines silicon photonics, MEMS, advanced electronics, ASICs, and embedded systems to enable significantly more efficient connectivity within next-generation AI infrastructure.
As the company moves its technology from development toward production, we're looking for a highly hands-on Electrical Hardware Test Engineer who can take broad ownership across electrical test, board-level hardware, validation, and prototype development.
The Role
This is not a narrowly defined test execution role.
You'll develop custom test systems for semiconductors and PCBAs, find creative ways to test difficult components, debug complex electrical issues, and validate ASICs, circuit boards, and subsystems as they progress from prototype into production.
You'll also contribute directly to PCB design and prototype development, giving you an opportunity to work across much more of the hardware lifecycle than you might find within a larger, more segmented engineering organization.
We're particularly interested in engineers who enjoy getting into the lab, building things themselves, solving ambiguous hardware problems, and taking ownership from design → build → bring-up → test → debug → production.
What You'll Do
Custom Test System Development
Design, build, and program custom electrical test stations for ASICs, PCBAs, and other electronic subsystems
Develop creative test approaches for components and systems that don't have an off-the-shelf test solution
Evaluate and select test equipment, fixtures, sockets, wafer probers, and related hardware
Work with third-party vendors to procure or develop specialized test equipment
Integrate instrumentation, custom electronics, fixtures, and software into automated test systems
Develop test automation and custom test protocols
PCB & Electronics Development
Design R&D, production-test, and product circuit boards
Develop architecture/block diagrams and select components
Perform schematic design and contribute to PCB layout
Manage PCB fabrication and assembly
Bring up and verify newly built hardware
Perform hands-on board-level debugging using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, power supplies, electronic loads, multimeters, and other bench equipment
Identify root causes of electrical failures and drive corrective actions
Develop and execute validation plans for prototypes and production test systems
Participate in FMEA/FMECA activities
Create engineering, test, and manufacturing documentation
Cross-Functional Product Development
You'll work closely with engineers across:
ASIC development
Firmware and embedded systems
FPGA
Silicon photonics
MEMS
Mechanical engineering
Manufacturing and product development
You'll also help establish scalable electrical test methodologies as the company's technology moves toward higher-volume production.
What We're Looking For
BS or MS in Electrical Engineering
Approximately 5–8+ years of industry experience in electrical hardware test, validation, or design
Strong hands-on experience with PCBAs, board bring-up, electrical debugging, and hardware validation
Experience developing test automation using Python or a similar scripting language
Excellent laboratory skills using oscilloscopes, multimeters, power supplies, waveform generators, electronic loads, logic analyzers, and related instrumentation
Ability to troubleshoot hardware at the board and component level and perform structured root-cause analysis
Experience or demonstrated capability with PCB design, schematic capture, and board development
Experience with Altium Designer; schematic and layout experience strongly preferred
Familiarity with embedded systems and hardware/software integration
Hands-on soldering capability, including components down to approximately 0402
Strong technical communication and documentation skills
Particularly Relevant Experience
Experience in any of the following would be especially valuable:
Semiconductor or ASIC test
Wafer-level testing or wafer probers
Custom electrical test fixtures
Automated hardware validation systems
PCB/PCBA design and development
NPI and transition from prototype to production
Silicon photonics, optical hardware, or high-speed electronics
FMEA/FMECA or reliability engineering
Why This Opportunity?
This role should be particularly compelling for an engineer who has worked within a larger organization where responsibilities are divided between R&D, electrical design, validation, test, and manufacturing, but who now wants broader ownership.
Rather than simply receiving finished hardware and executing validation against it, you'll have the opportunity to influence how the hardware is designed, build the systems used to test it, bring up new boards, debug failures at the component level, and help move a fundamentally new technology toward production.
It's a highly hands-on environment with significant technical ownership and direct exposure to a multidisciplinary team working at the intersection of AI infrastructure, semiconductors, silicon photonics, MEMS, and advanced hardware development.
Show more Show less