Electrical Engineer, PCBA Test Infrastructure, Robotics

Robotics - San Francisco

About the Team

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Our Robotics team is focused on unlocking general-purpose robotics and pushing towards AGI-level intelligence in dynamic factors. We strive to seamlessly blend high-level AI capabilities with the constraints of physical systems to improve peoples’ lives.

About the Role

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We are seeking an Electrical Engineer for a senior individual-contributor role leading printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) test infrastructure for advanced robotic systems. You will independently turn evolving requirements into working test stations, make technical tradeoffs, and own delivery from architecture and circuit design through validation, deployment, and reliable operation.

This role combines development-lab work with deployment at contract manufacturers. You will develop electrical test systems for board bring-up, programming, functional test, and characterization, partnering with mechanical, firmware, software, manufacturing, and reliability teams to carry validated stations from prototypes into repeat builds.

This role is based in San Francisco, CA, and requires in-person presence 4 days a week. Travel to contract-manufacturer sites is part of the role, with timing based on build and deployment needs.

In this role, you will:

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• Own PCBA test-station architecture, including device-under-test interfaces, programmable power, electronic loads, signal routing, instrumentation, and protection.
• Translate board requirements and likely failure modes into test coverage, measurement methods, and pass/fail criteria. Partner with board designers on design for test, test-point access, programming interfaces, and diagnostics.
• Design and bring up fixture interface boards, switching circuits, harnesses, and connectors. Release schematics, PCB layouts, wiring diagrams, bills of materials, and interface definitions.
• Integrate oscilloscopes, meters, power supplies, loads, and data acquisition hardware; validate calibration, timing, accuracy, and repeatability across stations and board revisions.
• Develop and debug programming and communications interfaces such as JTAG/SWD, UART, SPI, I²C, CAN, and Ethernet as required by the board. Diagnose power, signal-integrity, grounding, and contact problems.
• Design and validate current limiting, power sequencing, ESD protection, interlocks, and fault recovery appropriate to the hardware under test.
• Partner with mechanical engineers on probe access, connector mating, board support, cooling, and serviceability. Work with firmware and software partners to define interfaces and integrate test stations with shared software.
• Write, debug, and maintain test code for instrument control, board programming, automated sequences, diagnostics, and result logging. Collaborate with software partners on reusable frameworks, code reviews, and reliable releases.
• Establish station commissioning, calibration, maintenance, and configuration control. Track board identity and revision, firmware version, test limits, and station configuration with each result.
• Use reference boards, independent measurements, and deliberate fault checks to distinguish board failures from fixture or software errors. Improve test coverage, false-failure rate, cycle time, and station uptime.
• Own test-station deployment and acceptance at contract manufacturers, including station correlation, build support, operator training, and troubleshooting. Release configurations and documentation that keep lab and factory results consistent.

You might thrive in this role if you:

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• Have strong intuition for analog and digital circuits, power delivery, electronics debugging, and reliable measurement.
• Move comfortably from architecture and circuit design to soldering, probing, scripting, and troubleshooting in the lab.
• Care about grounding, shielding, contact quality, calibration, and evidence that a test detects the faults it is intended to find.
• Take ownership from prototype through reliable daily operation, balancing rapid iteration with clear documentation and maintainable test systems.

Required qualifications

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• Demonstrated ability to independently deliver significant electronics test-system projects from ambiguous requirements through working hardware, validation, and sustained use.
• Hands-on capability in circuit and fixture-interface design, schematic interpretation, board bring-up, power delivery, signal switching, and instrument integration.
• Ability to independently debug PCBAs and test hardware using oscilloscopes, meters, logic analyzers, and systematic root-cause investigation.
• Ability to write, debug, and maintain code that interfaces with real hardware in Python or a comparable language, including instrument control, sequencing, error handling, and structured result logging.
• Practical understanding of grounding, signal integrity, calibration, measurement uncertainty, ESD controls, power sequencing, and electrical protection.
• Ability to release clear test and hardware documentation, coordinate across engineering disciplines, and support hands-on deployment and troubleshooting at contract manufacturers.

Preferred qualifications

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• Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechatronics, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• Prior PCBA functional-test or automated-test-equipment experience, including design for test, test coverage, fixture correlation, and new-product builds at contract manufacturers.
• Experience with embedded programming, diagnostic firmware, and board interfaces such as JTAG/SWD, UART, SPI, I²C, CAN, or Ethernet.
• Experience with PCB design tools, shared test-automation frameworks, production data systems, or robotics hardware.

What success looks like

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• Commission a reusable PCBA test station with documented coverage, acceptance criteria, and traceable results; deploy and validate a reproducible configuration at a contract manufacturer.
• Demonstrate measurement repeatability and intended fault detection using reference boards, independent measurements, and known-fault cases. Track false failures, cycle time, and uptime against agreed improvement targets.
• Release hardware documentation, versioned test code, commissioning checks, and troubleshooting procedures that enable lab and contract-manufacturer teams to reproduce, operate, and maintain the station

About OpenAI

OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company dedicated to ensuring that general-purpose artificial intelligence benefits all of humanity. We push the boundaries of the capabilities of AI systems and seek to safely deploy them to the world through our products. AI is an extremely powerful tool that must be created with safety and human needs at its core the full spectrum of humanity.

We are an equal opportunity employeration, or other applicable legally protected characteristic.

Background checks for applicants will be administered in accordance with applicable lawation technology systems and related data security obligations.

To notify OpenAI that you believe this job posting is non-compliant. No response will be provided to inquiries unrelated to job posting compliance.

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities.

At OpenAI, we believe artificial intelligence has the potential to help people solve immense global challenges, and we want the upside of AI to be widely shared. Join us in shaping the future of technology.

Compensation

$318K – $485K + Offers Equity

The base pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factorsance-related bonus(es) for eligible employees, and the following benefits.

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance for you and your family, with employer contributions to Health Savings Accounts
• Pre-tax accounts for Health FSA, Dependent Care FSA, and commuter expenses (parking and transit)
• 401(k) retirement plan with employer match
• Paid parental leave (up to 24 weeks for birth parents and 20 weeks for non-birthing parents), plus paid medical and caregiver leave (up to 8 weeks)
• Paid time off: flexible PTO for exempt employees and up to 15 days annually for non-exempt employees
• 13+ paid company holidays, and multiple paid coordinated company office closures throughout the year for focus and recharge, plus paid sick or safe time (1 hour per 30 hours worked, or more, as required by applicable state or local law)
• Mental health and wellness support
• Employer-paid basic life and disability coverage
• Annual learning and development stipend to fuel your professional growth
• Daily meals in our offices, and meal delivery credits as eligible
• Relocation support for eligible employees
• Additional taxable fringe benefits, such as charitable donation matching and wellness stipends, may also be provided.

More details about our benefits are available to candidates during the hiring process.

This role is at-will and OpenAI reserves the right to modify base pay and other compensation components at any time based on individual performance, team or company results, or market conditions.