Robotics Test Engineer
OpenAI · San FranciscoFull job post · as written by OpenAI
About the Team
Our Robotics team is focused on unlocking general-purpose robotics and pushing towards AGI-level intelligence in dynamic, real-world settings. Working across the entire model stack, we integrate cutting-edge hardware and software to explore a broad range of robotic form factors. We strive to seamlessly blend high-level AI capabilities with the constraints of physical systems to improve peoples’ lives.
About the Role
As a Test Engineer on the Robotics team, you will help shape the next generation of embodied AI. You’ll design and run rigorous, exploratory and requirements-driven tests—building custom test equipment, analyzing results, and translating findings into actionable insights that drive design breakthroughs and mitigate risks across hardware and software. This role offers the opportunity to directly influence how our AI scales beyond simulation, ensuring that every design, test, and iteration brings us closer to truly adaptive, versatile robotic systems.
In this role, you will
- Design and build custom test benches to evaluate system performance under realistic operating conditions; proficient in CAD and familiar with GD&T.
- Analyze and interpret test data to identify trends, anomalies, and root causes.
- Develop and maintain comprehensive test plans that validate mechanical performance against product requirements.
- Execute validation and verification testing, capturing both quantitative and qualitative data with high fidelity.
- Author clear, actionable test reports that summarize results, highlight risks, and recommend design or process changes.
- Partner with engineering, product, and leadership teams to inform design iterations and strategic decisions.
- Design and execute compliance and regulatory testing campaigns, informing in-house vs 3rd party testing strategy
You might thrive in this role if you
- Have strong intuition for mechanical and electromechanical systems and how they fail, degrade, or vary in real-world operation.
- Enjoy hands-on lab work designing, instrumenting, operating, and debugging test equipment and robotic hardware.
- Can turn evolving requirements and ambiguous failures into repeatable tests, trustworthy data, and clear engineering decisions.
- Balance rigorous validation, safety, and traceability with rapid hardware iteration.
- Communicate clearly across mechanical, electrical, software, controls, and manufacturing teams, and build alignment on risks and corrective actions.
Preferred Qualifications
- 7+ years of experience in hardware testing or validation, including at least 2 years working with robotics hardware components and systems.
- Bachelor’s or graduate degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics, Robotics, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
- Experience designing test fixtures and stands using CAD, engineering drawings, and GD&T.
- Hands-on experience integrating sensors, instrumentation, and data acquisition (DAQ) systems, including calibration and measurement traceability.
- Experience developing automated or hardware-in-the-loop tests using Python, C/C++, or AI coding tools for test execution, data collection, and analysis.
- Experience designing reliability, accelerated life, environmental, and hardware qualification tests for robotic or electromechanical systems.
- Experience supporting EVT, DVT, PVT, pilot production, or sustaining hardware validation.
- Experience…