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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Verification QA Engineer

💰 $110,000 - $175,000

Quality AssuranceEngineeringHardware VerificationSoftware TestingTechnology

🎯 Role Definition

The Verification QA Engineer acts as a critical link between development and product release, ensuring that all hardware and software components meet rigorous quality standards and functional specifications. This role involves a deep dive into product architecture to develop comprehensive test plans, create and maintain sophisticated automated test frameworks, and perform hands-on validation. The ultimate goal is to identify, isolate, and document defects early in the development lifecycle, guaranteeing the delivery of a robust, reliable, and high-performance product to our customers.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Junior QA Engineer or Test Engineer
  • Software Developer in Test (SDET)
  • Recent Graduate (Computer Science/Electrical Engineering)
  • Test Technician

Advancement To:

  • Senior Verification QA Engineer
  • Staff / Principal Verification Engineer
  • QA Lead or Test Architect
  • Quality Assurance Manager

Lateral Moves:

  • Systems Engineer
  • DevOps Engineer
  • Field Application Engineer
  • Technical Product Manager

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Develop, document, and execute comprehensive test plans, test cases, and test procedures based on product requirements and design specifications.
  • Design, implement, and maintain scalable and robust automated test scripts and frameworks using languages like Python, Perl, or Tcl to validate system functionality.
  • Perform in-depth functional, integration, regression, performance, and stress testing on complex hardware and software systems.
  • Identify, isolate, and meticulously document defects and anomalies using bug tracking systems like JIRA, providing detailed steps for reproduction and initial root cause analysis.
  • Set up, configure, and maintain complex test environments and lab infrastructure, including both hardware and software components.
  • Collaborate closely with hardware design, ASIC, FPGA, and software development teams to understand system architecture and contribute to design-for-testability discussions.
  • Analyze test results, debug failures, and generate detailed, comprehensive test reports and metrics to communicate quality status to stakeholders.
  • Participate actively in design reviews, code reviews, and specification reviews to provide early feedback on product testability and potential quality issues.
  • Develop and enhance pre-silicon and post-silicon validation strategies, ensuring full coverage of critical features and functionalities.
  • Create and maintain reusable verification components, testbenches, and infrastructure to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the QA process.
  • Perform root cause analysis of complex system-level issues that span across hardware, firmware, and software boundaries.
  • Validate system-level functionality, interoperability, and compliance with industry standards and protocols (e.g., PCIe, Ethernet, DDR).
  • Drive the continuous improvement of testing methodologies, tools, and processes to enhance product quality and team productivity.
  • Execute manual exploratory testing to uncover issues not easily found through automation and to validate the end-user experience.
  • Characterize system performance under various loads and environmental conditions, identifying bottlenecks and areas for optimization.
  • Author and review technical documentation, including test plans, user guides, and release notes, ensuring accuracy and clarity.
  • Mentor junior QA engineers, providing technical guidance, code reviews, and support for their professional growth.
  • Develop and maintain scripts for lab automation, data collection, and results parsing to streamline testing workflows.
  • Triage and prioritize reported defects, working with development teams to ensure timely resolution of critical issues.
  • Stay current with emerging technologies, industry trends, and new verification methodologies to continuously advance our testing capabilities.
  • Validate product behavior against a wide matrix of configurations, including different operating systems, hardware platforms, and peripheral devices.
  • Contribute to the creation and maintenance of the continuous integration (CI) and continuous deployment (CD) pipeline for test execution and reporting.

Secondary Functions

  • Support cross-functional teams with ad-hoc testing requests and exploratory analysis of new features.
  • Contribute to the organization's overall quality strategy and verification roadmap.
  • Collaborate with product management and systems engineering to translate customer use cases into effective test scenarios.
  • Participate actively in sprint planning, retrospectives, and other Agile/Scrum ceremonies within the engineering organization.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Proficiency in at least one scripting language such as Python (highly preferred), Perl, Tcl, or Bash.
  • Experience with test automation frameworks and tools (e.g., PyTest, Robot Framework, Selenium).
  • Strong knowledge of Quality Assurance methodologies, tools, and the full software/hardware development lifecycle.
  • Hands-on experience with bug tracking and project management systems like JIRA and Confluence.
  • Familiarity with version control systems, particularly Git.
  • Experience working in and automating tests for Linux/Unix-based environments.
  • Knowledge of networking protocols (TCP/IP, Ethernet) and/or system interconnects (PCIe, CXL, I2C, SPI).
  • Experience with Continuous Integration (CI/CD) systems such as Jenkins, GitLab CI, or similar.
  • Knowledge of hardware verification methodologies (UVM/OVM) and languages (SystemVerilog, Verilog) for hardware-focused roles.
  • Experience with lab equipment like oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and protocol analyzers for hardware-focused roles.
  • A strong understanding of computer architecture, operating systems, and device drivers.

Soft Skills

  • Exceptional analytical, debugging, and problem-solving skills.
  • A meticulous and detail-oriented mindset with a passion for quality.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills for documenting bugs and reporting status.
  • Strong interpersonal and collaboration skills to work effectively in a cross-functional team environment.
  • Self-motivated, proactive, and able to work independently with minimal supervision.
  • Effective time management and organizational skills to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
  • A curious and inquisitive nature, with a drive to understand "how things work."

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's Degree

Preferred Education:

  • Master's Degree

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Computer Science
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Computer Engineering

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 3-7 years of relevant experience in a quality assurance, system validation, or verification engineering role.

Preferred:

  • Direct experience in ASIC/FPGA verification, storage systems, networking hardware, or enterprise systems validation is highly desirable.
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