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techroles

Principal Test Automation Engineer

d-Matrix d-matrix.ai Open
Hybrid Santa Clara Full-time Senior QA & Test

At a glance

Senior QA & Test role at d-Matrix. Santa Clara · full-time · $195,000–$285,000 base.

SalaryStated by d-Matrix
$195,000 – $285,000
Base salary for this role, in USD per year, as published in the posting.
This role, from d-MatrixOur estimate for the market: $159,000–$227,500Median $180,500
Above the market median of $180,500 for senior QA & test roles in Santa Clara.
Worked out from 6 postings that stated pay, median $180,500. Last updated Oct 16, 2026.
RoleQA & Test
SenioritySenior
LocationSanta Clara
WorkplaceHybrid
EmploymentFull-time
Base pay$195,000–$285,000
PostedOct 15, 2026
Role brief

techroles summary, based on the employer's posting.

What you'll do

  • Set the technical approach for AI-driven automation spanning build, CI, testing and release
  • Create the shared agent framework and connect it to GitLab, Jira, test outputs, logs and observability data
  • Measure whether automations save engineering time while keeping results correct
  • Set rules for autonomous actions, human approval and audit trails, then build early quality workflows for failure analysis and release readiness
  • Guide engineers through shared patterns, design reviews and mentoring, including when simpler tools beat an AI agent

What you bring

  • You bring extensive production software engineering experience and strong Python ability
  • You have shipped AI-powered tools or automations that teams depended on in production
  • You have hands-on command of LLM APIs, agent frameworks, tool connections and context engineering
  • You have evaluated unpredictable systems and influenced technical direction across teams outside your reporting line

Who this fits

This senior, hands-on role suits an experienced engineer who can set direction while building complex automation themselves. The work covers AI-assisted development workflows and software that spans compilers, firmware, drivers and inference serving. The role is listed as hybrid in Santa Clara, with the overview also describing a US-remote option.

From the employer

Join d-Matrix and help build the future of AI inference. We’ve pioneered a memory-centric architecture that brings compute directly into memory, making AI faster, more energy efficient, and accessible on a global scale. From chips and software to rack-scale systems, our team is tackling some of AI infrastructure’s hardest challenges — and shipping breakthrough technology today. If you want to create what comes next and help make infinite inference possible, we’d love to hear from you.

Our culture is built on respect, collaboration, and direct communication. We value humility, we believe our different perspectives lead to better solutions, and we’re looking for people who are driven by execution and energized by hard problems.

Principal Test Automation Engineer

Location: Santa Clara, Ca / Remote, US

Role Overview

d-Matrix is hiring a Principal Software Engineer to define and build how we use AI-enabled automation across the software development lifecycle, from build and CI through testing and release. Our codebase spans a kernel compiler, firmware, device drivers, and an inference serving stack running on silicon we designed ourselves. Tests require real hardware, correctness is numerical rather than pass/fail, and failures can originate in any of several layers. You will set the technical direction for AI-enabled workflow automation and build the foundations other engineers rely on, including the agent harness, integrations into GitLab, Jira, test results, and logs, guardrails, and evaluation methods that show whether an automation actually helped. You will stay hands-on and ship the hardest pieces yourself, working alongside a Senior/Staff engineer in the same area while raising the bar for how the broader engineering organization uses AI in its daily work.

What You Will Do

  • Set the technical direction for AI-enabled workflow automation across build, CI, test, and release.

  • Build the shared foundation, including the agent harness and tool integrations into GitLab, Jira, test results, logs, and observability data.

  • Develop evaluation methodology to measure whether an automation saves time and preserves correctness.

  • Define guardrails and standards for where AI acts autonomously, where it proposes and a human decides, and how every change stays auditable.

  • Deliver the first Quality Engineering automations, including cross-layer failure attribution, failure clustering and defect deduplication, coverage-gap analysis, and release-readiness summaries.

  • Raise the bar across engineering through shared patterns, design reviews, and mentoring.

  • Determine when an agent, a deterministic tool with a narrow model step, or a simple script is the right solution, and teach that judgment to others.

What You Will Bring

  • Extensive production software engineering experience, with strong Python skills.

  • Enough Rust and/or C++ experience to understand build flows and diagnose compiler errors.

  • Experience shipping AI-enabled tools or automation that others relied on in production, beyond demos.

  • Deep hands-on experience with LLM APIs, agent harnesses, tool integration, and context engineering.

  • Experience designing evaluations for nondeterministic systems, showing that an automation helped without breaking something else.

  • Sound judgment about when AI is the right tool, including examples of choosing not to use it.

  • Strong fluency across the development lifecycle, including CI/CD, testing, and release processes.

  • A track record of setting technical direction across teams that do not report to you.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Exposure to compilers, firmware, or hardware-in-the-loop test environments.

  • Experience building tool integrations with MCP or similar protocols.

  • Experience working with GitLab, Jira, or Prometheus APIs.

  • Experience managing cost and latency in LLM-based systems.

  • Daily use of AI coding tools such as Claude Code, Cursor, or Copilot, with well-formed opinions on where they help and where they do not.

Equal Opportunity Employment Policy

d-Matrix is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and affirmative action employer. We’re committed to fostering an inclusive environment where everyone feels welcomed and empowered to do their best work. We hire the best talent for our teams, regardless of race, religion, color, age, disability, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, ancestry, genetic information, marital status, national origin, political affiliation, or veteran status. Our focus is on hiring teammates with humble expertise, kindness, dedication, and a willingness to embrace challenges and learn together every day.

d-Matrix does not accept resumes or candidate submissions from external agencies. We appreciate the interest and effort of recruitment firms, but we kindly request that individuals interested in opportunities with d-Matrix apply directly through our official channels. This approach allows us to streamline our hiring processes and maintain a consistent and fair evaluation of all applicants. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

Opportunity

QA & Test work from LinkedIn, X, Reddit and Upwork, in one list.

Each morning you get everything that fits, strongest first.

QA & Test$190k+

Find me work

By the team behind techroles.

Find me work
Opportunity

QA & Test work from LinkedIn, X, Reddit and Upwork, in one list.

Each morning you get everything that fits, strongest first.

Find me work

By the team behind techroles.