Test Automation Engineer at Firestorm in San Diego, CA

Job description

Who We Are At Firestorm, we are building the future of expeditionary defense manufacturing and autonomous systems. Modern conflict has exposed a fundamental problem: the systems needed most by operators are often too expensive, too slow to produce, and too difficult to sustain at scale. Firestorm exists to change that. We develop mission-adaptable aerial systems and deployable manufacturing infrastructure designed to put capability directly into the hands of the warfighter. From modular unmanned aircraft to xCell — our deployable microfactory — our goal is to make defense systems rapidly deployable, adaptable, and producible at the point of need. We are looking for builders, operators, and problem-solvers who want to work on meaningful technology with real-world impact. About the Role Firestorm builds modular autonomous aircraft designed to adapt across missions, payloads, and deployment environments. Validating that software requires testing complete aircraft behaviors and interfaces, not just individual components. We are hiring a Senior Software Test Automation Engineer to build the tests, tools, and infrastructure used to validate aircraft software. You will automate end-to-end testing across SIL, HIL, and VIL environments and help make software integration and release testing faster, more repeatable, and easier to debug. This is a software engineering role focused on test. You will build automation and infrastructure used throughout development and formal release testing. What You’ll Do Automate aircraft behaviors — Build scenario-based tests for aircraft capabilities, interfaces, failures, and recovery behavior. Build test infrastructure — Develop frameworks, harnesses, services, and tooling for automated execution across SIL, HIL, and VIL. Automate release testing — Turn release test plans into repeatable automated campaigns with clear results and failure reporting. Build test orchestration — Improve configuration, execution, data collection, analysis, and reporting across test environments. Debug integration failures — Investigate problems across aircraft software, simulation, networking, hardware, and test infrastructure. Expand system coverage — Work with software and systems engineers to identify gaps and move meaningful testing earlier in development. Improve the test platform — Make automated testing easier to develop, run, maintain, and scale. Required Qualifications 5+ years of software engineering, test automation, integration, or related experience U.S. person required due to ITAR regulations Strong programming skills in Python, C++, or similar languages Experience building automated test frameworks, harnesses, or infrastructure Experience testing complex integrated software systems Experience with SIL, HIL, VIL, simulation, or other hardware-connected test environments Strong debugging skills across software, interfaces, networking, and hardware Experience automating test execution, data collection, and result reporting Experience integrating automated testing into CI/CD or software release workflows Preferred Qualifications Experience testing autonomous systems, robotics, aircraft, or vehicles Experience with scenario-based testing or fault injection Experience with distributed test execution or orchestration systems Experience analyzing telemetry or time-series system data Aerospace, defense, UAS, or safety-critical software experience Work Environment This role is based in San Diego, CA. We welcome candidates who are local or open to relocating; relocation assistance is available and may be included in the offer package where appropriate. Compensation US Salary Range: $150,000 – $195,000 USD The posted salary range reflects an estimate based on a variety of compensation factors, including but not limited to relevant experience, education, certifications, specialized skills, geographic location, and business needs. Actual compensation may vary, and this range is subject to change as our compensation structu