Senior Manager, QA Engineering – Hardware & Firmware

Job Title

Senior Manager, QA Engineering – Hardware & Firmware

Role Summary

Lead a Solutions QA team responsible for hardware and firmware validation across product lifecycles. Role combines hands-on testing, test automation development, and people leadership to ensure product quality for real hardware-based solutions.

The position works closely with design and firmware engineering to define test strategies, establish quality gates, and deliver measurable quality metrics.

Experience Level

Senior-level. The role expects extensive experience (the posting indicates 10+ years in QA engineering with 5+ years focused on hardware or firmware/embedded systems and proven team leadership).

Responsibilities

Primary responsibilities focus on end-to-end hardware/firmware validation, automation, and team leadership.

• Drive and perform end-to-end solution testing using real hardware and firmware test benches, including functional and non-functional testing.
• Develop, review, and maintain comprehensive QA test plans for functional, integration, and system-level scenarios across firmware and hardware layers.
• Design and execute black-box and grey-box tests; perform deep debugging and root-cause analysis.
• Develop and maintain test automation frameworks, scripts, and infrastructure; code automation for complex test scenarios.
• Lead, mentor, and grow a high-performing Solutions QA team while remaining technically hands-on.
• Define and enforce quality gates and acceptance criteria aligned to product requirements and risk analysis.
• Collaborate with engineering and design teams to address testability and coordinate testing strategies.
• Plan, track, and manage QA tasks, resources, schedules, and provide regular status reporting with quality metrics and risk mitigation.
• Identify and implement process and tooling improvements to increase test effectiveness and efficiency.

Requirements

Must-have technical skills, leadership experience, and tooling knowledge.

• Extensive hands-on experience in firmware and embedded systems testing at driver, protocol, and system-integration levels.
• Proven experience conducting end-to-end solution testing on real hardware and test benches (not simulation-only).
• Proficiency in writing and executing functional and non-functional test cases, automation scripts, and building test frameworks.
• Strong practical experience with black-box and grey-box testing methodologies, hardware debugging, and root-cause analysis.
• Experience building AI-assisted tools for generating test cases from requirements and for orchestrating test execution.
• Proficiency with automation languages/tools such as Python, C, Tcl, and SystemVerilog; ability to develop sophisticated test frameworks.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and grow QA teams while maintaining significant technical contributions.
• Strong project management, process ownership, and communication skills.
• Nice-to-have: familiarity with CI/CD pipelines and DevOps practices for hardware testing, version control and test management tools, and Agile/Scrum experience.

Education Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or equivalent hands-on technical experience. Equivalent practical experience is acceptable.

About the Company

Company: Lattice Semiconductor

Headquarters: Portland, Oregon, USA

Lattice Semiconductor specializes in low power, small-form-factor programmable logic devices and solutions. The company is known for its innovative technology that enables a wide range of applications, including communication, consumer, and industrial markets.