Senior Software Development Engineer in Test

Zoox is hiring a Senior Software Development Engineer in Test in Foster City, United States. It pays $205k-$245k a year and Level rates it ; you can apply on Zoox.

Level's read on this job

Level rates this software engineer role Little AI ●○○○: aI is not part of the work.
Pay on this posting starts 23% higher than the typical software engineer posting on Level.
The posting mentions Grafana, SQL and Python among its tools and skills.
Level classes it as a senior role.
Zoox has 226 other open roles on Level.

AI in this role

Design and maintain large-scale hardware-in-the-loop test frameworks and CI pipelines for autonomous vehicle software releases.

grafanasqlpythonci-cd

testinghardware-in-the-loopautomationsoftware-engineeringrelease-management

Zoox is on an ambitious journey to develop a full-stack autonomous mobility solution for cities and safely deploy such a robotaxi solution. We are seeking a highly motivated Senior Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET) to join the Release Management Team. As a Senior Software Development Engineer in Test on the Release Management team at Zoox, you will help accelerate our software release by ensuring that we are shipping the safest and most reliable software possible. As developers build new features, you will be responsible for developing Hardware-In-Loop tests to support our safety case. These efforts are critical to maintaining our code quality and ensuring our service capabilities are operating as intended. Your ability to understand the overall system design and component interaction to help guide test methodology for functional and safety sign-off is crucial to the overall success of Zoox. Accountability and integrity are core to our team. This role is coding-intensive, focused on building solutions for high-fidelity testing, scalable automation frameworks, and sophisticated data analysis tools to ensure successful compliance to requirements and mission success.

In this role, you will:

Lead the design, development and maintenance of large-scale event-driven software/hardware -in-the-loop (SIL/HIL) tests and testing frameworks, utilizing advanced software patterns to improve modularity and reduce code duplication.
Architect and manage end-to-end continuous integration (CI) pipelines to automate the execution of regression suites.
Lead root cause analysis for complex system-level failures, developing log mining scripts and visualization dashboards (e.g., Grafana, SQL-based notebooks) to triage failures and track performance metrics.
Perform gap analyses between high-level safety requirements and technical test implementations, including the development of intricate timing and prioritization patterns. Lead end-to-end validation and clearance process for safety-critical monitors, such as for collision detection systems.
Provide technical leadership and mentorship to a small group of engineers on the team.

Qualifications:

Bachelor's or higher degree in Mechatronics Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering or a relevant technical field.
7+ years of experience with demonstrated ownership of 3+ complex projects
Good technical communication skills, with the ability to summarize complex test failures and provide clear impact assessments for our tests, tools, and pipelines.
Demonstrated experience delivering complex projects in Python, including the use of AI-based coding, such as for infrastructure development, tooling and automated test writing.
Deep understanding of HIL and SIL methodologies, including real-time fault injection.
Ownership from design, to implementation and maintenance of automated testing pipelines (e.g., using Bamboo, Buildkite, Jenkins, or similar CI Tools) and developing custom automation plugins.
Practical knowledge of Linux internals and networking protocols used in high-throughput real-time systems.

Bonus Qualifications:

Strong C++
Pytest customization experience
Background in autonomous systems or safety-critical robotics validation.
Experience applying Generative AI or Machine Learning tools to code, audit and improve test coverage and documentation.
Experience with real-time communication protocols (e.g., DDS, I2C, SPI, CAN, GMSL2).

About ZooxZoox is developing the first ground-up, fully autonomous vehicle fleet and the supporting ecosystem required to bring this technology to market. Sitting at the intersection of robotics, machine learning, and design, Zoox aims to provide the next generation of mobility-as-a-service in urban environments. We’re looking for top talent that shares our passion and wants to be part of a fast-moving and highly execution-oriented team.
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AccommodationsIf you need an accommodation to participate in the application or interview process please reach out to accommodations@zoox.com or your assigned recruiter.
A Final Note:You do not need to match every listed expectation to apply for this position. Here at Zoox, we know that diverse perspectives foster the innovation we need to be successful, and we are committed to building a team that encompasses a variety of backgrounds, experiences, and skills.

How we rate this

Senior Software Development Engineer in Test at Zoox rates 20 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Little AI (AI Level 1 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.

Classification

Little AI. AI is not part of the work.

●●●● Builds AI80 to 100
●●●○ Works on AI60 to 79
●●○○ Uses AI40 to 59
●○○○ Little AI0 to 39

Levels come from how often the tools, models and workflows of the role are named in the posting itself. Read the description and count the AI tools, models and workflows it names.

Key facts

Senior Software Development Engineer in Test is an open job at Zoox.
Level rates this role AI Level 1 of 4: Little AI.
The listed salary is $205k-$245k a year.
The role is based in Foster City, CA.
The job was posted on October 14, 2026.
Seniority: senior.
Applications are handled by Zoox. Apply on Zoox

Prepare for this job

Built from this posting and from similar jobs on Level.

Skills and AI tools this role asks for

TestingHardware In The LoopAutomationSoftware EngineeringRelease ManagementGrafanaSQLPython

Also common in software engineer jobs at this level

Java AWS Kubernetes TypeScript React Docker

Pay

This job starts at: $205k
Typical software engineer job: $167k

This posting starts 23% above the typical software engineer job. See software engineer jobs

Questions you could be asked

Tell me about a project where testing was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where hardware in the loop was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where automation was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where software engineering was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where release management was part of your work. What did you do?

Adapt your resume

List these exact terms on your resume: Testing, Hardware In The Loop, Automation, Software Engineering, and Release Management. An applicant tracking system matches the wording, not the idea.
Attach one line of real, concrete experience to at least one of them. A tool named with nothing behind it rarely survives a human read.

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