Transforming the Future with Convergence of Simulation and Data

Test Engineer General

Job Summary:

Our client in Allen Park, MI is looking for a Test Engineer General. This is a contract position.

What You Will Do:

As an Off-Board Technologies/MMOTA Software Test Engineer, you will be a critical part of a team dedicated to ensuring the highest quality and reliability of vehicle software update pipelines. Your primary focus will be on the end-to-end testing of Over-The-Air (OTA), Service, Human-Machine Interface (HMI), Mobile Apps, and Manufacturing software update processes. You will rigorously test the download, installation, and activation stages to guarantee that all software binaries and configurations are applied precisely as intended, contributing to a best-in-class infotainment system and seamless customer experience. 

Key Responsibilities: 

• Develop and execute comprehensive functional test scenarios and test cases, leveraging user stories within Agile Sprints. 
• Collaborate closely with development teams to understand testing requirements and ensure all project requirements are clearly defined and testable.
• Prepare, configure, and maintain necessary test benches, vehicles, tools, and software environments to facilitate thorough test execution. 
• Log all test results (pass/fail) following the merge of related test codes into Master, and meticulously debug any failures to ascertain their root cause, ensuring that only valid defects are accurately entered into the defect tracking system, JIRA. 
• Work in conjunction with feature engineers to efficiently reproduce and troubleshoot defects identified within the system. 
• Actively participate in root-cause analysis for both hardware quality problems and software defects. 
• Contribute to system design discussions, documentation efforts, and overall testing strategy to deliver a robust and high-quality infotainment system. 
• Provide accurate time estimates for testing-related tasks during sprint planning sessions to support effective project scheduling. 
• Perform corrective and predictive maintenance on hardware laboratory nodes to ensure they remain in satisfactory condition and functionality for continuous testing. 
• Analyze the root cause of software failures to correctly prioritize them for subsequent fixing, providing timely validation rounds for both manual and automated tests.
• Contribute to the enhancement of test automation development, optimizing existing processes, validating new features, and supporting testing efforts for upcoming vehicle programs.
• Identify and propose areas for continuous improvement across all facets of testing and velocity tracking. 
• Utilize Test Management tools for test planning review, execution, monitoring (including proficient key metrics interpretation), and comprehensive reporting of test results. 
• Provide detailed feedback and comprehensive bug reports to foster high-quality software delivery and efficient testing workflows. 
• Acceptance Testing - Perform end-to-end acceptance testing on a test vehicle after an OTA update, verifying that all features function as specified in the user stories and meet the defined customer experience criteria for the infotainment system.
• Test Equipment - Prepare and maintain a hardware test bench, in-vehicle test setup including specific vehicle ECUs and communication modules, to accurately simulate real-world conditions for rigorous testing of OTA software update downloads and installations.
• Test Automation - Develop and enhance automated test scripts using programming languages (e.g., Python) to validate the successful download, integrity check, and installation of OTA software binaries on simulated vehicle environments within the continuous integration pipeline.
• Testing – Test - Rigorously execute defined functional test cases for a new manufacturing software update, meticulously documenting all steps and observations to ensure the update process correctly flashes the vehicle's infotainment system and applies configurations as intended.  
• Software Testing - Conduct comprehensive software testing on a new mobile application release designed to initiate vehicle software updates, verifying its functionality across various operating systems and network conditions to ensure reliable update scheduling and status reporting.
• Testing – Tools - Utilize JIRA to log a newly discovered defect related to an HMI software update failing to install, providing detailed reproduction steps, logs, and screenshots, and then track its resolution through the development lifecycle.
• Test Execution - Execute a suite of manual and automated test cases on a physical vehicle to validate the successful activation of a newly installed OTA software update, confirming all new features are operational and no regressions have been introduced.
• Test Integration Testing - Perform integration testing to ensure seamless communication and data flow between the cloud-based OTA update server, the vehicle's telematics unit, and the HMI system during a software update, verifying the entire end-to-end pipeline functions cohesively.
• Test Cases, Analytical - Analyze user stories and system design specifications for a new infotainment feature to design comprehensive and analytical functional test cases, including edge cases and negative scenarios, to ensure all aspects of the feature's behavior are thoroughly validated post-software update.
• Test Planning - Develop a detailed test plan for the next sprint's OTA software update, outlining test scope, resources, entry/exit criteria, and estimated timelines for manual and automated testing activities, collaborating closely with the development team.
• Technical Writing - Document the detailed steps and configurations required to set up a new test bench environment for OTA software updates, ensuring clarity and precision for other engineers to replicate the setup accurately.
• API – Utilize an API testing tool (e.g., Postman) to validate the responses and data structures of the backend APIs responsible for managing vehicle software update campaigns, ensuring that the correct binaries and configurations are being delivered to the vehicles.
• Python – Write a Python script to automate the parsing of vehicle diagnostic logs and testing data after an OTA update failure.
• Code Assessment – Review a new piece of software code developed for an infotainment feature, providing feedback to the development team on potential areas that could lead to testing challenges or impact testability, such as missing error handling or complex logic.
• Automated Scripting - Develop and maintain automated scripts using a scripting language (e.g., Python) to perform repetitive tasks like flashing vehicle ECUs with new software builds, collecting system logs, or initiating and monitoring automated test sequences on a test fleet.
• Test Unit Testing - Collaborate with development teams to understand the scope and coverage of unit tests for critical modules within the OTA update client, ensuring individual components correctly handle binary integrity checks and configuration parsing before system-level testing.
• User Acceptance Testing - Facilitate User Acceptance Testing (UAT) sessions with internal stakeholders or representative customers to gather feedback and confirm that a newly updated HMI interface meets their usability expectations and functional requirements for vehicle control and infotainment.
• Test Regression Testing – After a critical bug fix is implemented in the OTA update pipeline, execute a full regression test suite covering all previously validated download, installation, and activation scenarios to confirm no existing functionality has been inadvertently broken by the change. 
• Successful delivery in Vehicle Software Update pipelines (OTA, Service, HMI, Mobile Apps, and Manufacturing) with software binaries and configurations applied as intended. 

Basics:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Software Engineering, or a related technical field. 
• 1-5 years of experience in software testing, preferably within embedded systems, automotive, or similar complex software environments. 
• Proven experience in developing and executing functional test scenarios and test cases. 
• Familiarity with Agile development methodologies and working with user stories.  
• Hands-on experience with defect tracking systems (e.g., JIRA) and test management tools. 
• Demonstrated ability to perform root-cause analysis and debug software failures. 
• Onsite position. Expected to be onsite 3-4 days per week.

Preferred:

• Proven experience in developing and executing functional test scenarios and test cases. 
• Familiarity with Agile development methodologies and working with user stories. 
• Hands-on experience with defect tracking systems (e.g., JIRA) and test management tools. 
• Demonstrated ability to perform root-cause analysis and debug software failures. 

How You Will Be Successful:

• Envision the Future
• Communicate Honestly and Broadly
• Seek Technology and Business “First”
• Embrace Diversity and Take Risks

What We Offer:

• Competitive Salary
• Comprehensive Benefit Package
• 401(k) with matching contributions
• Paid Time Off
• Employee Discounts
• Free training on all Altair products

Why Work with Us:

Altair is a global technology company providing software and cloud solutions in the areas of data analytics, product development, and high-performance computing (HPC). Altair enables organizations in nearly every industry to compete more effectively in a connected world, while creating a more sustainable future. With more than 3,000 engineers, scientists, and creative thinkers in 25 countries, we help solve our customer’s toughest challenges and deliver unparalleled service, helping the innovators innovate, drive better decisions, and turn today’s problems into tomorrow’s opportunities.

Our vision is to transform customer decision making with data analytics, simulation, and high-performance computing.

For more than 30 years, we have been helping our customers integrate electronics and controls with mechanical design to expand product value, develop AI, simulation and data-driven digital twins to drive better decisions, and deliver advanced HPC and cloud solutions to support unlimited idea exploration. To learn more, please visit altair.com

Ready to go? #ONLYFORWARD   

At our core we are explorers; adventures; pioneers. We are the brains behind some of the world’s most revolutionary innovations and are not only comfortable in new and unchartered waters, we dive headfirst. We are the original trailblazers that make the impossible possible, discovering new solutions to our customer’s toughest challenges.

Altair is an equal opportunity employer. Our backgrounds are diverse, and every member of our global team is critical to our success. Altair’s history demonstrations a belief that empowering each individual authentic voice reinforces a culture that thrives because of the uniqueness among our team.