Senior Firmware Test Automation Engineer

Senior Firmware Test Automation Engineer – Belfast, NI (Hybrid)

My client, an innovative scale‑up in the body‑worn camera and cloud software space, partners with major organisations across security, public safety, and field services. They are deeply committed to driving safety through cutting‑edge technology, staying ahead of emerging threats, and continuously reducing risk for the people who depend on their solutions. What truly sets my client apart is their culture. They foster openness, transparency, and a strong “one team” mindset.

You’ll be joining a passionate group working on impactful projects in a highly collaborative and purpose‑driven environment.

My client is building a brand‑new firmware test automation function for their embedded Linux body‑worn camera platform. In this hands‑on role, you will own the creation of a scalable, reliable daily regression system that pulls the latest firmware, deploys to devices, executes automated test suites (including video/streaming validation), and delivers clear results to the engineering team. This position blends automation engineering, embedded systems, hardware‑in‑the‑loop setups, video integrity validation, and streaming analysis.

* The key requirement is that this hire has hardware/firmware test automation experience and that they can take end‑to‑end ownership of the automation and regression capability: proactively driving solutions, improving reliability, and owning results.

• Build the Automation Foundation
• Design and implement a maintainable automation framework for embedded Linux firmware.
• Ensure robustness with retries, device recovery, failure classification, and quarantining of flaky tests/devices.
• Validate recording start/stop behaviour, file integrity, metadata accuracy, and storage handling.
• Test device lifecycle events: reboot, crash recovery, factory reset, upgrade/rollback scenarios.
• Video Validation Automation (MP4, H.264/H.265)
• Automate decode integrity and structural checks (FFmpeg/ffprobe).
• Validate stream properties: codec/profile, resolution, FPS, bitrate, timestamps, dropped frames.
• Produce actionable artifacts (ffprobe JSON, logs, short video clips).
• Streaming Validation Automation (RTSP + WebRTC)
• Automate setup/teardown, stability checks, reconnection behaviour, and performance metrics.
• Capture bitrate/FPS, jitter, RTT, packet loss, and attach supporting data (logs, stats, pcaps).
• Implement repeatable stress and long‑duration scenarios:
• Long recording soak tests, rapid record/stop cycles
• Battery edge‑case testing, thermal‑related scenarios
• OTA upgrade/downgrade stress testing
• Network impairment simulation for RTSP/WebRTC
• Define clear pass/fail criteria and trend metrics to identify regressions early.
• Build and maintain test rigs, provisioning workflows, device recovery/reset mechanisms.
• Scale test execution across a fleet of embedded devices.
• Quality Signal & Collaboration
• Triage failures, identify root cause, and create high‑signal bug reports with logs, traces, and artifacts.
• Work closely with firmware teams to improve testability and reduce flakiness.
• Source control / CI:
  Bitbucket (or similar)
• Platform:
  Embedded Linux
• Media formats: MP4 (H.264/H.265)
• Streaming: RTSP, WebRTC
• Freedom to propose new tools and approaches with a focus on maintainability and measurable outcomes.

• Strong experience building test automation for firmware or embedded systems (not just frontend/UI).
• Strong scripting/programming skills (Python preferred; Bash/Go also welcome).
• CI mindset with the ability to build reliable, unattended daily automation systems.
• Solid Linux experience (logs, SSH, debugging tools).
• Good networking fundamentals and hands‑on debugging experience (TCP/IP).
• Highly Valued
• Video validation expertise using FFmpeg/ffprobe (metadata, decode checks, timing analysis).
• Streaming automation using GStreamer (RTSP; ideally WebRTC).
• Wireshark/tshark experience for network trace analysis.
• Understanding of WebRTC metrics and approaches to automate them.
• Nice to Have
• Experience with cameras/video technology (body‑worn, CCTV, dashcams).