Automation Operations Engineer

About This Role

An Automation Operations Engineer contributes directly to cutting-edge consumer electronics products and services used by billions of people every day. This role involves deploying, maintaining, and executing hardware test fixtures in the company's Cupertino lab, working directly with world-class experts and technologies at a world-famous, public California-based multinational technology leader.

Responsibilities

• Set up, deploy, and maintain test devices and fixtures for automation testing, including mechanical setup and device-under-test (DUT) configuration as instructed by the engineering team
• Build models, disassemble, modify, and re-assemble systems
• Handle prototype and development hardware with strict adherence to security and handling protocols
• Work alongside engineers to bring up and maintain test infrastructure, taking responsibility for agent staging, updates, and smoke testing
• Run experiments defined by staff engineers, start tests on daily software builds, and monitor them for success
• Perform failure recovery, troubleshooting, and root cause analysis when automation or hardware test setups fail
• Perform basic analysis of test data validity, create test reports, summaries, and dashboards, and provide daily/weekly status updates with clear timelines and deliverables
• Develop and update associated documentation, including assembly/disassembly procedures and agent update guides
• Maintain a clean, organized, and well-managed lab space, ensuring equipment and devices are properly accounted for and maintained
• Handle prototype device pickup within 48 hours of availability
• Deploy new prototype devices to test areas within 48 hours of pickup
• Transport devices between distribution centers and labs (requiring travel between buildings using a personal vehicle)
• Identify and propose design, process, or performance improvements to engineers to minimize test fixture downtime

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, or equivalent practical experience
• Familiarity with Python-based test automation
• Comfortable writing basic scripts, debugging small issues, and interacting with microcontrollers and I/O devices
• Experience deploying automated fixtures, including mechanical setup
• Experience with infrastructure and configuration management systems (e.g., Ansible, Puppet)
• Solid experience with shell scripting, networking, and managing macOS systems
• Self-sufficient problem solver with excellent debugging skills
• High attention to detail
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment with changing priorities
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills for effective collaboration with cross-location teams