Senior QA Engineer (Robotics)

Glidance, Inc. Senior QA Engineer (Robotics) – Seattle, WA – Contractor

Glidance is building Glide, a primary mobility aid that enables blind and low‑vision people to travel independently and confidently. Quality, reliability, and trust are non‑negotiable. As the Senior Robotics QA Engineer on the team you will own product quality end‑to‑end – from walking the streets with our device, to debugging real‑world failures, to working with engineering, Product and Orientation and Mobility specialists to translate safety and user requirements into testable quality standards. This is a hands‑on, systems‑level role for someone who thrives at the intersection of hardware, software, and human experience. You will join a team that values bold and unconventional solutions to hard problems and obsesses about the user experience with our products and services.

About Glidance, Inc.

At Glidance, we are creating the future of personal robotics by harnessing cutting edge robotics and AI to address actual human need and transform lives. Our flagship product, Glide, is the world’s first Intelligent Guide for individuals who are blind or have low vision, representing a new category of personal robots to enable millions of people to get out of their homes and navigate more confidently, safely, and independently. If you’re looking for a place where groundbreaking technology meets real‑world impact, and where your work defines a category rather than iterates upon it, then Glidance is where you belong. This is not just your next job: it is your chance to make a life‑changing impact on millions around the world.

Description

As the Senior Robotics QA Engineer on the team you will own product quality end‑to‑end – from walking the streets with our device, to debugging real‑world failures, to working with engineering, Product and Orientation and Mobility specialists to translate safety and user requirements into testable quality standards. This is a hands‑on, systems‑level role for someone who thrives at the intersection of hardware, software, and human experience.

Reports to: Chief Technology Officer

Location: On‑site in Seattle, WA

Responsibilities

• Define the bar for a safety‑critical consumer robotics product.
• Build and maintain test plans across required mobility behaviors, edge cases & failure modes, hardware/software integration and field vs lab performance gaps.
• Test Glide in real environments (sidewalks, crossings, urban/suburban routes, varied weather & lighting).
• Reproduce, isolate, and triage bugs using logs, device tools, and system instrumentation across software, ML, firmware and hardware.
• Own and facilitate weekly QA triage sessions with Product and Engineering, with high‑quality bug reports, clear repro steps, logs, severity, and user impact.
• Track regressions, known issues, and quality trends over time.
• Establish tooling, standards, and rituals that scale beyond a single person, and mentor others in systematic debugging and field‑based quality thinking.

Qualifications

Self‑directed, collaborative, and comfortable operating in a fast‑moving startup setting.

• 5+ years in QA, Test Engineering, Systems Engineering, or a similar role on complex electro‑mechanical hardware/software products.
• Strong technical debugging skills (reading logs, using CLI tools, device introspection, system traces).
• Comfortable walking routes, running experiments, and testing outdoors for extended periods.
• Excellent written and verbal communication – you make issues clear, actionable, and grounded in evidence.
• Organized, detail‑oriented, and rigorous.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with robotics, autonomous systems, or safety‑critical products.
• Familiarity with ROS / ROS2, embedded Linux, sensors, or ML‑driven behavior.
• Prior experience being a first or early QA hire.
• Experience in accessibility, assistive technology, or human‑centered design.

Why Join Glidance?

Be part of a mission‑driven company that makes a real difference in people’s lives.

Work as part of a talented and passionate team at the forefront of AI and robotics.

Play a pivotal role in shaping the future of personal robots.