Senior Software Engineer, Manufacturing Test Automation

Company Overview:

Imagine a piloted air taxi that takes off vertically, then quietly carries you and your fellow passengers over the congested city streets below, enabling you to spend more time with the people and places that matter most. At Joby, we've been working to make that dream a reality since 2009 and we're now in the final stages of certifying our aircraft with the FAA. With plans to launch our aircraft in the US and Dubai, we're now scaling manufacturing and preparing for the launch of our commercial service.

Overview:

Joby is looking for a software engineer with experience in electronics manufacturing and software development. Ideal candidates would contain both strong Python skills, electronics test equipment experience, and a firm understanding of the software/hardware interface.

 

As a Senior Software Engineer for Test Infrastructure, you will develop software that enables the automation of electronics manufacturing tests in an aerospace production environment. You will manage a Python monorepo of microservices that spans test-execution services, hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) integrations, and CI/release tooling. Beyond code, you are expected to drive technical strategy and cross-team collaboration, turning ambiguous test requirements into a deterministic, automated reality.

 

Location:San Carlos, CA. Please note that working remote will not be considered.

Responsibilities:

• Build unique new test stations while providing high-tier support for existing stations, ensuring the production line remains deterministic and FAA-compliant.
• Design and maintain Python test software and HIL (Hardware-in-the-Loop) infrastructure that gates the production and certification of Joby’s avionics systems.
• Drive cross-functional discussions with software, hardware, and manufacturing engineers to translate complex manual acceptance procedures into reliable, fully automated software.
• Maintain database schemas and ELT pipelines to store mission-critical test results for downstream aerospace analytics.
• Full-Stack delivery of efficient UIs and robust backend services within an Agile/Sprint environment, deploying via CI/CD pipelines.
• Understanding of networking fundamentals (TCP/IP, UDP, Routing) to design robust communication paths between test stations and aircraft hardware, ensuring low-latency and reliable data transport.
• Build async Python services and hand-rolled drivers to interface with test equipment via a deep stack of protocols, including gRPC, WebSockets, Modbus TCP, and SCPI/VISA.

Required:

• University degree in computer science, computer engineering or electrical engineering and 7+ years full time industry experience. An advanced degree and 5+ year of practical experience will also be considered.
• Experience operating electronics test equipment (multimeters, power supplies, data acquisition devices).
• Experience with networking, Modbus, I2C, and SCPI/VISA protocols and writing drivers for electronics test equipment.
• Expertise in Python, specifically with asyncio for high-concurrency hardware control and an exposure to other languages such as: C++, C, Go, SQL.
• Demonstrable experience in software development for production test equipment in a manufacturing environment.
• Experience designing and implementing test strategies to assess the reliability of automation frameworks and libraries.
• Mature understanding of Continuous Integration, Continuous Development (CI/CD) and DevOps tools.
• Ability to work closely with the software development team, and teams in other domains, gathering requirements and feedback.

Desired:

• Experience building full-stack applications, including efficient web-based UIs and robust backend services using FastAPI and SQL.
• Positive attitude and self-motivated work ethic with an openness to feedback.
• Ability to work effectively as a team member in a geographically distributed team.
• Willingness to be flexible and learn new technologies.
• Ability to adjust quickly in a fast-paced environment.
• Provide mentorship and technical guidance to the team, promoting high engineering standards through constructive code reviews and a collaborative, teaching-oriented approach to problem-solving.

Additional Information: