Senior Quality Assurance Engineer (Hardware)

Location: Ottawa, ON - Hybrid (majority onsite at 1VALET R&D Lab)

Reporting to: Hardware Product Manager

About the Role

We are looking for a Senior Quality Assurance Engineer to join the Hardware Squad at 1VALET. This role is critical to ensuring the quality, reliability, and performance of 1VALET’s hardware and software products, including our Entry systems, software and third-party hardware integrations (smart locks, thermostats, sensors, and other IoT devices). You will work closely with Product, Hardware Engineering, Software Engineering, CX, and Operations teams to validate new products, support field deployments, and troubleshoot real-world issues reported by customers and operations teams. This is a hands-on QA role that requires deep involvement with physical hardware, firmware, software, and system-level integrations.

Responsibilities

Hardware & System QA

● Define and execute QA strategies, test plans, and test cases for hardware products, embedded software, and connected systems

● Perform functional, regression, integration, and system testing on 1VALET Entry systems and related hardware ● Validate hardware integrations including smart locks, thermostats, access readers, sensors, and other IoT devices

● Participate in new hardware bring-up and validation Software & Platform QA

● Test embedded firmware, device software, mobile applications, and backend services as part of an end-to-end system

● Ensure quality across multiple device types, screen sizes, hardware revisions, and firmware versions

● Collaborate with software engineers to reproduce, isolate, and verify fixes for defects Field & Operations Support

● Work closely with CX and Operations teams to investigate and troubleshoot issues reported from the field

● Reproduce customer issues in the lab using real hardware and production-like environments

● Perform root cause analysis and provide actionable feedback to engineering and product teams Process & Quality Improvement

● Own and improve QA processes for the Hardware Squad

● Contribute to the continuous improvement of testing methodologies, documentation, and release quality

● Track defects, test results, and quality metrics; clearly communicate risks and release readiness

● Advocate for quality throughout the product lifecycle, from design to deployment

Required Qualifications

● 5+ years of experience in Quality Assurance, with a strong focus on hardware-software systems

● Hands-on experience testing embedded systems, IoT devices, or hardware products

● Strong understanding of hardware, firmware, and software interactions

● Experience testing device integrations (locks, sensors, controllers, or similar systems)

● Proven ability to troubleshoot complex, real-world issues involving hardware, software, and networks

● Experience working with bug tracking and test management tools

● Comfortable working onsite with physical devices and lab equipment

● Experience using AI-assisted tools to improve productivity and quality (e.g., Replit AI, Claude, GitHub Copilot, or similar tools) for tasks such as test design, debugging, documentation, or analysis

Nice to Have

● Experience in smart building, proptech, access control, or IoT platforms

● Familiarity with networking concepts (TCP/IP, Wi-Fi, Ethernet, BLE, LTE)

● Knowledge of compliance or certification processes (FCC, CE, etc.) ● Experience collaborating closely with Operations or Customer Support teams

What We Offer

● Opportunity to work on real, deployed hardware systems used in residential and commercial buildings

● High ownership role with direct impact on product quality and customer experience

● Close collaboration with product, engineering, CX, and operations teams

● Access to a fully equipped R&D lab and hands-on testing environment

● Hybrid work model with strong onsite collaboration in Ottawa