Robotics Test QA Engineer
Rhoda AI
Quality Assurance
Palo Alto, CA, USA
Location
Palo Alto
Employment Type
Full time
Department
Software
At Rhoda AI, we're building the full-stack foundation for the next generation of humanoid robots — from high-performance, software-defined hardware to the foundational models and video world models that control it. Our robots are designed to be generalists capable of operating in complex, real-world environments and handling scenarios unseen in training. We work at the intersection of large-scale learning, robotics, and systems, with a research team that includes researchers from Stanford, Berkeley, Harvard, and beyond. We're not building a feature; we're building a new computing platform for physical work — and with over $400M raised, we're investing aggressively in the R&D, hardware development, and manufacturing scale-up to make that a reality.
We're looking for a Robotics Test / QA Engineer to design and build the test infrastructure that ensures our robot software stack is reliable, regression-free, and ready to ship.
What You'll Do
Design and implement automated test plans, test cases, and test fixtures across the full robotic software stack
Architect and build test infrastructure across all testing layers — spanning unit tests, component integration tests, system-level tests, and hardware-in-the-loop validation
Strengthen and extend CI/CD pipelines to catch regressions early and gate releases
Define quality metrics and KPIs; track test coverage, failure trends, and release readiness to give the team clear signal on product health
Investigate and root-cause production failures; drive corrective actions and build regression tests to prevent recurrence
Participate in design and code reviews with a focus on observability, testability, and reliability
What We're Looking For
Proficiency in Python and C++
Strong knowledge of software engineering best practices and design patterns
Experience designing and building test infrastructure
Hands-on experience with CI/CD systems
Strong debugging and root-cause analysis skills — able to investigate failures across software, hardware, and system boundaries
Solid understanding of software testing methodologies across multiple layers
Experience with Linux-based development and production environments
Self-starter mentality — comfortable with ambiguity, able to prioritize independently, and willing to jump in wherever needed
Effective communication skills; able to work cross-functionally in a small, fast-moving team
Nice to Have (But Not Required)
Experience with Docker and containerized environments
Experience with Bazel or similar build systems
Familiarity with perception systems
Knowledge of industrial communication protocols (EtherCAT, Modbus, gRPC, etc.)
Understanding of networking fundamentals (TCP/IP, DNS, firewalls) and security best practices for embedded IoT devices
Experience contributing to product design processes
Why This Role
Own the quality bar for a humanoid robot software stack — your test infrastructure is the last line of defense before code runs on real hardware in the real world
Build foundational QA systems from the ground up at a critical moment in the company's development, with direct influence over how the engineering team ships
Work at the intersection of software reliability and physical robotics, where a missed regression isn't just a bug — it has consequences in the physical world