Role: Embedded Test Lead

Industry Type: IT Services & Consulting

Department: Engineering - Software & QA

Employment Type: Full Time, Permanent

Role Category: Quality Assurance and Testing

UG: B.Tech / B.E. in Any Specialization

Position Title: Test Lead Distributed Embedded Systems (PAGA / Network Audio)

Experience Required: 7û10 years

About the Role

We are looking for a Test Lead who can own both manual and automated testing across a distributed, Ethernet-connected Public Address and General Announcement (PAGA) system. The system follows a decentralized hive-queen architecture and spans hardware endpoints, embedded Linux services, middleware protocols, and web-based management interfaces ù all networked over Ethernet.

Key Responsibilities

Test Leadership & Strategy

Define and own the overall test strategy for a distributed, multi-node PAGA architecture covering hardware, firmware, middleware, and application layers.
Author test plans, test cases, traceability matrices (requirement test), execution reports, and test summary reports for each release.
Lead defect triage and drive closure across hardware, software, and network domains.
Support release validation and generate quality/test status reports for stakeholders.

System & Integration Testing

Design and execute end-to-end system tests covering the full hive-queen topology ù including queen node failover, hive node discovery, and distributed announcement coordination.
Perform integration testing across frontend, backend web services, embedded C++ services (Linux), and hardware peripherals.
Test inter-node communication, network partitioning scenarios, and recovery behaviors under fault conditions.
Validate hardware-side components: amplifiers, buttons, LEDs, USB interfaces, network switches, and watchdog behavior.

Middleware & Protocol Testing

Test and validate middleware stack including: DHCP, MQTT broker/client (publish-subscribe flows, QoS levels, retained messages), DNS, mDNS (service discovery across nodes), and SIP call + RTP audio path.
Verify Fluent Bit log pipeline configuration, log forwarding, and log integrity under load.
Validate network-level behaviors using Wireshark, tcpdump, and MQTT clients (e.g., MQTTX, mosquitto_sub).

Embedded & Device Testing

Test embedded Linux services written in C++ ù including startup sequences, IPC, service restart policies, and resource limits.
Validate device lifecycle features: software update (OTA), Secure Boot chain of trust, and rollback behavior.
Use Linux CLI tools for log analysis, process inspection (systemctl, journalctl, dmesg), and low-level debugging.
Test Yocto-based system images ù verify package integrity, service configuration, and boot behavior across node types.

Automation

Build, maintain, and extend Robot Framework test suites covering distributed system scenarios (multi-node, networked, hardware-in-the-loop where applicable).
Write Python scripts for test tooling: protocol simulators (MQTT, SIP/RTP), device state validators, log parsers, and automated regression flows.
Integrate test suites into CI/CD pipelines (GitLab CI/CD preferred) for automated regression on each build.
Maintain test environments that reflect real distributed deployments (multi-node Ethernet lab topologies).

Required Skills & Experience

7û10 years of testing experience, with a strong focus on embedded Linux systems and networked/distributed architectures.
Hands-on experience testing systems with MQTT (broker + client), SIP/RTP, DNS/mDNS, DHCP, and general TCP/IP networking over Ethernet.
Proficiency with network analysis tools: Wireshark, tcpdump, MQTT clients, log analysis pipelines.
Experience testing hardware peripherals: buttons, LEDs, USB, amplifiers, network switches, watchdog timers.
Solid Linux command-line skills: log inspection, service management, process debugging.
Automation experience with Robot Framework and Python scripting.
Hands-on use of Jira or equivalent for defect tracking and test traceability.
Good communication skills; ability to coordinate across hardware, firmware, and software teams.

Preferred Skills

Experience testing OTA update pipelines and Secure Boot (chain of trust, rollback validation).
Familiarity with Yocto/embedded Linux image builds and system-level validation.
Experience with REST API testing (Postman, pytest, or similar).
Knowledge of SIP call flows and RTP stream validation (jitter, packet loss, audio quality proxies).
Experience with CI/CD integration ù GitLab CI/CD or Jenkins ù for automated test execution.
Exposure to fluentd/Fluent Bit log pipeline testing.
Understanding of decentralized/distributed system testing patterns: split-brain scenarios, node failover, quorum behaviour, eventual consistency.
Familiarity with audio system testing ù end-to-end announcement flow, zone routing, gain/attenuation validation.

Core Title Keywords

Embedded Test Lead
Embedded QA Lead
IoT Test Lead
Embedded Automation Lead
Networked Embedded Systems Test Engineer

Technical Keywords to Add

MQTT + Robot Framework
Embedded Linux + Test Automation
OTA testing + Secure Boot
SIP RTP testing embedded
Distributed embedded systems testing
DHCP DNS mDNS testing
Embedded C++ Linux testing
HIL testing + Python automation
Yocto Linux testing
Network audio testing

Domain Keywords

PAGA system testing
Public address system QA
Industrial IoT testing
IIoT embedded validation
Edge device testing

Tool/Stack Keywords

Robot Framework + Python + Jenkins
GitLab CI/CD embedded
Wireshark tcpdump embedded testing
Fluent Bit logging validation
MQTT broker testing