Test Software Engineer (Lead)

About the Role

As a Test Software Engineer at Droyd, you'll build the software infrastructure that powers robot testing and evaluation, and you'll lead the test team as it grows. You'll write the tools, scripts, and systems used to run tests, collect data, and measure performance over time, and you'll set the technical direction and priorities the rest of the team works against.

This is a hands-on role first. You'll still be in the code, building practical internal tools and working closely with hardware and test teams. The managerial side is about multiplying the team's output: setting priorities, unblocking people, and owning how testing gets executed across the company.

This role is based in San Francisco, CA. We're an in-person company. We build faster that way.

In This Role, You'll

Build

• Build software tools and infrastructure to support robot testing and evaluation
• Write scripts and test workflows for repeatable execution across hardware and software systems
• Support benchmarking for teleoperation, robot behavior, and AI policy performance
• Help collect, organize, and analyze test data
• Improve reliability, automation, and usability of internal test systems

Lead

• Set priorities and technical direction for the test team
• Coordinate day-to-day test execution across hardware and software work
• Unblock the team and keep evaluation, demo, and deployment work moving
• Work closely with test technicians, mechanical designers, and robotics engineers to support test execution
• Grow the team and its infrastructure as testing scales toward larger environments and pilot deployments

We're Looking for Someone Who

• Has strong software engineering fundamentals
• Can build clean, practical tools for internal technical users
• Is comfortable working close to hardware and debugging system-level issues
• Can write reliable scripts and automation for repeatable testing
• Can set direction for a team and keep multiple workstreams moving in parallel
• Communicates clearly and works well across software, hardware, and test teams
• Thrives in a fast-paced, high-ownership environment

Nice to Have

• Experience leading a team or owning a technical workstream end to end
• Experience with robotics, hardware systems, or embedded-adjacent tooling
• Experience building test infrastructure, internal tools, or evaluation frameworks
• Experience with data logging, experiment tracking, or result analysis
• Familiarity with Python and common robotics or automation workflows