Automation Engineer

About Fellow

We believe that the act of making should be meaningful and fulfilling, done with intention and precision. Fellow makes beautifully functional tools for any kitchen, designed in San Francisco and used around the world.

When the simple motions of life become small moments of joy, that’s Everyday Magic.™

This role is based in our San Francisco, CA office and requires regular in-office presence in accordance with company policy. 

Who You Are

You are an executor, builder and systems-minded automation engineer who creates the firmware and hardware automation infrastructure that enables Fellow to scale product quality across a growing device portfolio. You develop robust automated test suites, CI/CD workflows, and validation tooling that support new product bring-up, regression testing, and release readiness from prototype through production.

Partnering closely with firmware, electrical, and product engineering teams, you help establish reliable, maintainable automation systems that improve development velocity, reduce manual testing effort, and ensure high-quality customer experiences across Fellow’s connected products.

What You’ll Do

1. New Product Automation Suite Development

• Build firmware and hardware automation suites from the ground up for Fellow’s new products
• Design test cases and firmware validation plans for each product, following the framework and standards
• Develop scripts and tools (Python or similar) to automate firmware validation, data collection, regression testing, and product qualification for new products
• Build test infrastructure to support new product firmware builds and production readiness, translating prototype-stage automation into production-ready suites

1. CI/CD Pipeline Implementation & Maintenance

• Implement CI/CD pipelines for firmware and hardware systems 
• Build and maintain GitHub Actions or equivalent pipelines that enforce automated firmware test gates on every pull request and release build
• Automate provisioning and deployment of test devices and environments to support reliable, repeatable pipeline execution
• Monitor and maintain pipeline health: resolve test flakiness, improve reliability, and reduce manual intervention in firmware validation workflows

1. Shared Framework Contribution

• Contribute reusable test utilities, helpers, and libraries to the shared automation framework under Senior AE direction
• Follow and uphold team coding standards and documentation practices, ensuring all automation is maintainable by the full team
• Participate in code review, both receiving feedback and reviewing peer contributions
• Document test coverage, known gaps, and implementation decisions to maintain institutional knowledge and support integration touchpoints

1. Hardware & Firmware Integration Support

• Collaborate with firmware and electrical engineers to validate embedded systems and connected hardware features for new products
• Build automation tooling to support firmware bring-up, calibration, and regression testing for new devices entering the pipeline
• Design experiments and data collection workflows to capture performance and reliability data from new hardware
• Support hardware technicians with test unit modifications and automation infrastructure for production testing environments
• Coordinate on integration layer contracts: defining the firmware events and data structures that flow into the mobile app and cloud backend

1. Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner closely on architectural decisions, code review, and framework alignment
• Coordinate end-to-end integration test coverage: ensure new product firmware events and behaviors are testable from the app and backend layers
• Work with Product, Firmware, and Electrical teams to validate new product features and ensure automation is aligned to product requirements
• Participate in tradeoff discussions between feature complexity, reliability, cost, and testability, with a focus on new product firmware quality
• Produce clear test reports and defect documentation, contributing to the team’s stakeholder visibility and release readiness process

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in automation engineering, test engineering, or systems validation (consumer electronics or IoT preferred)
• Strong proficiency in Python or other scripting languages for firmware test automation and tooling
• Hands-on experience designing and implementing CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions, Jenkins, GitLab CI, or equivalent)
• Experience building end-to-end automated firmware test suites for new products
• Experience with connected hardware products: Bluetooth, WiFi, or other IoT technologies
• Experience validating embedded systems and firmware
• Strong understanding of debugging hardware + firmware interactions
• Ability to operate independently, manage multiple product streams simultaneously, and deliver to roadmap milestones

Preferred Qualifications 

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or related field
• Experience with HIL (hardware-in-the-loop) and SIL (software-in-the-loop) test frameworks
• Familiarity with RobotFramework, pytest, or similar test frameworks
• Experience with Docker, Ansible, or environment automation for firmware test infrastructure
• Experience with AWS IoT, REST APIs, or firmware-to-cloud integration patterns (coordination with System Test Engineer)
• Experience transitioning products from EVT/DVT/PVT to mass production
• Background in mentored or high-code-review environments with strong documentation practices

Why You’ll Love This Role

• A creative, fast-moving environment where ideas turn into action.
• Competitive compensation including employee equity plan
• Generous paid time off plan
• 401k with company contribution after 6 months of employment
• Medical/dental/vision insurance
• Better Yourself Wellness credit & Better Your Community donation matching
• Monthly Fitness Stipend
• Summer Fridays
• Paid Parental Leave
• Generous discount on Fellow products
• Best coffee anywhere

The salary range for this position is $165,000 - $185,000  plus bonus & equity. We intentionally publish salary ranges to promote transparency and set clear expectations. Final compensation is determined based on a number of factors, including relevant experience, skills, expertise, scope of previous work, demonstrated impact, and internal equity. As a result, not every candidate will be hired at the top of the range.

Our highest goal at Fellow is creating a safe, inclusive, and rewarding environment where everyone can bring their whole selves to work and thrive. We are committed to building diverse teams and strongly encourage people from underrepresented groups, including but not limited to women, people of color, LGBTQIA+ individuals, people with disabilities, members of ethnic minorities, foreign-born residents, and veterans to apply. 

Fellow is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants will not be discriminated against because of race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, religion, national origin, citizenship status, disability, ancestry, marital status, veteran status, medical condition or any protected category prohibited by local, state or federal laws.