STAFF SOFTWARE QA ENGINEER

Position Summary

Smart Wires is seeking a Staff SQA Engineer based in Durham, NC to lead our SQA team. The role involves defining and implementing SQA strategies, developing quality plans, leading release readiness reviews, and managing offshore teams.

Primary Responsibilities

• Define, own, and implement SQA strategy for embedded firmware, RTOS-based systems, hardware/software integration, and desktop application software.
• Develop and maintain firmware & software quality plans, test strategies, and entry/exit criteria.
• Lead release readiness reviews to ensure packages are ready for release.
• Lead the development and continuous improvement of the software test life cycle processes.
• Establish and maintain traceability between system requirements, software requirements, test cases, and defects.
• Define, track, and share software quality KPIs, including metrics specific to AI-generated code.
• Manage the offshore SQA team.
• Coordinate with the Software Manager and Product Manager to plan firmware/software releases for various projects.
• Manage the SQA lab at Smart Wires HQ.
• Establish and maintain Smart Wires HQ as the production center for software and firmware.
• Automate firmware deployment and testing in SmartValve hardware prior to test execution.
• Work with the Test team on common development elements of factory test setups.
• Collaborate with firmware & software development engineers to review designs, identify testability gaps, and drive design for test improvements.
• Author and maintain unit and automation test suites to accelerate test case generation, scenario coverage analysis, and defect pattern identification.
• Champion enterprise AI adoption within the SQA team and own the verification strategy for AI-generated firmware and software.
• Conduct RCA and CAPA processes for escaped software defects and systemic process failures.
• Maintain quality records and artifacts for internal audits and external assessments.
• Mentor mid-level and junior SQA engineers; establish and communicate best practices and quality engineering standards.
• Partner with the requirements team on requirement decomposition and verification planning from concept through validation.

Required Skills and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical, Computer, Software, or Systems Engineering or related field
• 10 years of experience with SQA testing of complex embedded system products
• 5+ years of experience with test automation platforms (LabVIEW preferred)
• 3+ years of experience with software/firmware development using C, C++, C#, test scripts using Python & LabVIEW
• 3+ years of people management, including coaching & mentoring
• 3+ years of experience collaborating with offshore teams
• 3+ years of experience managing software process improvement for a 30+ software SQA group
• 2+ years of experience with cybersecurity testing
• Working knowledge of CI/CD tools, version control systems, bug tracking system (Jira preferred), and ability to design continuous verification and test infrastructure that scales to an AI-assisted pipeline.
• Experience with LLM-based development tooling and hands-on experience building or running evaluation harnesses to validate AI-generated code and tests.

Desired Skills and Experience

• Master’s degree in electrical, Computer, Software, or Systems Engineering or technically related field
• Demonstrated proficiency in a systems-based approach to problem solving
• Excellent communication and presentation skills
• Ability to work with various internal and external technical stakeholders
• Strong problem-solving skills
• Excellent attention to details
• Experience with the electric-power industry
• Experience with supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems and plant automation
• Strong organization and documentation abilities
• Self-motivated and willing to take initiative
• Thrives working in a fast-paced environment among a multi-disciplinary team

Location

This role is located at the Smart Wires HQ in Durham, NC. Candidates are expected to work from the office for at least 24 core hours per week unless agreed upon with the Manager. Core hours are defined as 9a to 3p ET.

Travel Requirements

This position is expected to travel up to 10% of the year, both domestically and internationally. Must be willing and able to travel to India and Pakistan.

Benefits

At Smart Wires, we strive to foster an inclusive and supportive environment that focuses on our employees' total wellbeing, and our benefit offerings reflect that commitment to our people.

• Flexible PTO
• Paid parental leave to support you and your family
• Competitive total compensation packages that includes salary, bonus, and equity
• A comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental, and vision insurance, life and disability coverage, and a 401(k) retirement plan with company match

The Culture

We are passionate about creating a culture that empowers our team to create positive change for everyone and achieve their full potential, based on our core values:

• Making an impact - We are passionate and ambitious about a better future for everyone. We are laser-focused on creating a meaningful, positive impact with real change for our customers, our industry, electricity consumers, and the planet.
• Collaboration to drive success - We collaborate with each other, and our stakeholders, because we know even better outcomes come from great teamwork. We have humility because we know even better outcomes come from great teamwork. We have humility which allows us to listen, learn and improve. We value diverse perspectives and seek high impact results.
• Accountability - We take responsibility for our actions and behaviors, and for the outcomes we deliver. Acting with integrity and authenticity – and maintaining clear, open communication – ensures we are always improving, and delivering safe, high-quality solutions. We do what we say we will do.
• Tenacious courage - We are clear on our path. We have always pioneered new ideas that challenge the status quo, even when it’s not popular. We have tenacity, grit and determination. We push the boundaries of what’s thought to be possible – so we can leave the world a better place than we found it.

Smart Wires is committed to diversity in our organization and building an equitable and inclusive environment for people of all backgrounds and experiences. We provide equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics. Smart Wires complies with applicable federal, state and local laws governing nondiscrimination and we especially encourage members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply, including women, people of any skin color, LGBTQ people, veterans, and people with disabilities.