Lead Principal Engineer Automated Test Infrastructure for Automotive Ethernet Switch (f/m/div)

Lead Principal Engineer Automated Test Infrastructure for Automotive Ethernet Switch

What if your ideas could change the way the world connects, powers up, or thinks? As a Lead Principal Engineer Automated Test Infrastructure for Automotive Ethernet Switch on our Research & Development team, you'll have the opportunity to merge creativity with your technical expertise by shaping the future of technology, driving groundbreaking projects, and bringing new ideas to life.

Your Role

Key responsibilities in your new role:

• Lead and grow the team building the test infrastructure (hiring, mentoring, performance management, career development, team processes)
• Define technical strategy and architecture for the end-to-end automation platform (unit/module/system testing, HIL/lab automation, data/analytics, release gating)
• Hands-on delivery of critical parts of the stack: pipeline implementation, core automation services, test orchestration, and integration of lab hardware
• Build and maintain a CI/CD pipeline that provisions devices, configures network topologies, deploys firmware/software, executes tests, captures artifacts, and enforces quality gates
• Integrate software-controlled topology generation using L1 switches/relay matrices; create repeatable topology definitions and switching sequences
• Establish automated functional characterization and objective pass/fail criteria (performance, latency, robustness, interoperability, regression)
• Implement results analytics and reporting (trend detection, flaky-test handling, root-cause workflows, traceability)
• Ensure lab reliability and scalability: hardware health checks, remote power/cycling, environmental monitoring, resource scheduling, and reproducibility
• Partner with firmware/software, hardware, validation, and DevOps to align roadmaps, manage dependencies, and deliver milestones
• Drive engineering excellence: coding standards, code reviews, documentation, security of lab infrastructure, and maintainability

Your Profile

As a Lead Principal Engineer Automated Test Infrastructure for Automotive Ethernet Switch, you own and lead the delivery of a fully automated, software-controlled test environment and CI/CD pipeline for an automotive Ethernet switch program. This role combines people leadership and execution management with strong hands-on technical contribution across lab automation, topology control, test orchestration, and automated pass/fail characterization to gate software releases.

• 15+ years in test automation/CI, embedded systems, or networking product development, including 3+ years leading engineers (people management + delivery ownership)
• Demonstrated success building automated test platforms that combine software pipelines with physical lab/HIL resources
• Strong hands-on ability in Python (preferred) and automation frameworks (e.g., pytest, Robot Framework), plus solid software engineering practices
• Deep familiarity with CI/CD and pipeline-as-code (e.g., Jenkins/GitLab CI/Azure DevOps), artifact management, and release gating
• Strong understanding of Ethernet switching/network testing (VLAN/QoS basics; TSN/PTP awareness is a plus) and traffic generation/analysis
• Proficient with Linux, networking tools, debugging, and test reliability engineering (flakiness reduction, determinism, reproducibility)
• Experience integrating test equipment (e.g., Ixia/Spirent/TRex) and lab control (PDU/relay control, serial consoles, REST/SSH control planes)
• Automotive process and compliance exposure: ASPICE, ISO 26262 awareness, traceability and audit-ready test evidence
• Data/observability stack for test results: ELK/Grafana/Prometheus; result databases (SQL/NoSQL)
• Containerization (Docker) and scalable runners; Kubernetes optional
• TSN/802.1AS/PTP characterization, determinism/latency benchmarking
• Balances strategic direction with hands-on execution-comfortable writing code, debugging lab failures, and reviewing architecture
• Strong stakeholder management: clear prioritization, risk management, and communication from engineering details to program-level status
• Builds a culture of ownership, quality, and continuous improvement across software and lab operations
• Fluent English skills and German as a plus