Test Automation and Factory Testing Engineer

About Etched

Etched is building AI chips that are hard-coded for individual model architectures. Our first product (Sohu) only supports transformers, but has an order of magnitude more throughput and lower latency than a B200. With Etched ASICs, you can build products that would be impossible with GPUs, like real-time video generation models and extremely deep & parallel chain-of-thought reasoning agents.

Job Summary

We are seeking a Test Automation and Factory Testing Engineer to own the testing, validation, and quality assurance processes for our hardware production lines. This role will bridge engineering and manufacturing, ensuring that all devices meet stringent performance, reliability, and compliance standards before deployment. You will collaborate closely with hardware design, system testing, operations, and manufacturing partners to design and maintain robust test infrastructure.

Key responsibilities

• Develop, implement, and maintain automated and manual test procedures for production hardware.

• Define test coverage requirements and ensure validation against functional specifications.

• Collaborate with hardware, firmware, and manufacturing teams to design scalable test fixtures and infrastructure.

• Perform root cause analysis and debug issues found in factory and field environments.

• Ensure compliance with industry standards for safety, reliability, and performance.

• Monitor and analyze test data to drive process improvements and yield optimization.

• Work with manufacturing partners to integrate and maintain testing workflows at scale.

• Create documentation and provide training to factory teams to ensure proper execution of test procedures.

You may be a good fit if you have

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field.

• 10+ years of experience in hardware validation, manufacturing test engineering, or a similar role.

• Hands-on experience with test equipment

• Proficiency in scripting and automation (e.g., Python, LabVIEW, or equivalent).

• Strong understanding of hardware bring-up, debug, and validation processes.

• Ability to analyze data and drive decisions for yield, quality, and process improvements.

• Excellent problem-solving skills and ability to work cross-functionally.

Strong candidates may also have

• Experience in high-volume manufacturing environments.

• Familiarity with AI/ML hardware, accelerators, or datacenter-class systems.

• Knowledge of system-level testing (thermal, stress, reliability, compliance).

• Experience working with contract manufacturers and ODM/OEM partners.

Base Compensation Package

• $175,000 - $225,000

Benefits

• Full medical, dental, and vision packages, with generous premium coverage

• Housing subsidy of $2,000/month for those living within walking distance of the office

• Daily lunch and dinner in our office

• Relocation support for those moving to San Jose (Santana Row)

How we’re different

Etched believes in the Bitter Lesson. We think most of the progress in the AI field has come from using more FLOPs to train and run models, and the best way to get more FLOPs is to build model-specific hardware. Larger and larger training runs encourage companies to consolidate around fewer model architectures, which creates a market for single-model ASICs.

We are a fully in-person team in San Jose (Santana Row), and greatly value engineering skills. We do not have boundaries between engineering and research, and we expect all of our technical staff to contribute to both as needed.