Job Description
Introduction
Looking for a Hardware Engineer to work on our EST squad executing and automating test scenarios. This job role provides a wide range of technical experiences, from hardware handling to running programs on a variety of operating systems. It also offers a lot of troubleshooting, investigation and problem resolution. This encompasses several sub-roles including: machine configuration, operation, maintenance, error handling and investigation, troubleshooting bugs, defect reporting, operating system knowledge, and workload execution.
In addition, there is a strong desire to transform traditional test methods to a more automated approach which will require a significant amount of programming & scripting. We need someone with the drive to find machine bugs and work with our development team until the issue has been resolved. A team player is a must! In order to ensure success, the candidate will need a willingness to continuously seek education to build their skills. This, along with a strong desire to replace traditional manually initiated workload/testing with automated execution techniques will be a big plus.
Your Role And Responsibilities
IBM System Z (IBM Z) mainframes are engineered for the highest levels of reliability, availability, and serviceability (RAS). Hardware validation ensures every subsystem of the platform meets IBM's strict quality standards before it is shipped to customers.
Virtualization is a key offering of the Linux on Z Platform that is used by clients all over the world. It is imperative that the offering is secure, robust, and reliable; our job is to verify that it meets those standards. We install and test Red Hat OCP/KVM on Linux for System Z.
The Hardware Test Engineer is responsible for defining, designing, and executing hardware test requirements to ensure product reliability, performance, and compliance with design specifications. The role involves test planning, automation development, validation of hardware components, debugging issues, and collaborating closely with cross‑functional engineering teams.
Our goal is to provide product validation in an enterprise ready and can sustain mission critical workloads for long periods of time. We approach our testing with an automation-first mindset, designing and architecting our work to be consistent and reproduceable. Success in this role means having the curiosity to explore new innovations that expedite our testing cycles while maintaining complex testing configurations.
Preferred Education
Master's Degree
Required Technical And Professional Expertise
Strong experience in Linux deployment, administration and troubleshooting across enterprise environments(Redhat, Sles and Ubuntu).
Hands-on expertise in network installation, configuration and validation.
Proficient in KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) setup, configuration and virtual machine management.
Experience with Red Hat OpenShift (OCP) installation, deployment, upgrades, and cluster operations.
Solid working knowledge of Kubernetes architecture, workload management, and cluster monitoring.
Hands-on experience with Grafana for metrics visualization, dashboard creation, and system observability.
Experience in system/kernel dump collection, FFDC, analysis, and debugging across Linux and containerized environments.
Strong understanding of computer architecture (CPU, memory hierarchy, buses, I/O subsystems).
Familiarity with PCIe, USB, Ethernet, SAS/SATA, NVMe, DDR, or similar protocols.
Good knowledge of firmware/BIOS, drivers, and low-level debugging.
Gather and analyze hardware requirements to create detailed test plans, test matrices, and test strategies.
Identify coverage gaps and ensure test completeness across hardware components.
Proficiency in scripting (Python/Shell/Bash) for automation, tooling, and operational efficiency.
Demonstrated experience in automation of deployments, monitoring, and operational workflows using scripting or orchestration tools.
Preferred Technical And Professional Experience
2+ years of experience working with Z mainframe systems in some capacity Experience with one or more mainframe operating systems.
Experience with practical applications of the mainframe Experience writing and executing test plans with the ability to ensure proper coverage based on customer requirements and workloads, and perform regression testing
Hardware troubleshooting skills
Knowledge of Agile practices Ability to handle testing and debugging tasks independent
