Test & Validation Engineer - Motors and Actuators

About 1X

We’re building humanoid robots that work in home - doing the chores, handling the tasks, and giving people their time back. Simple, but it’s not.

To do this right, we have to solve robotics, AI, manufacturing - at the same time, at scale, in a form factor that has to be safe enough to live with your family. If you’re inspired by this, you’ll thrive here. We’ve been at this since 2014 and we’re at the point where the hard problems are behind us and the hard work is in front of us.

NEO is our flagship - a home robot designed to move, learn, and operate in the real world alongside real people. We’re not demoing it - we’re shipping it. We’re excited to meet you, if this excites you.

If you’ve spent your career working on problems that matter and want to see them actually reach the world - this is that moment. We’re scaling, we’re hiring with intention, and we need people who want to build something that will genuinely change how humans spend their time - safely creating abundance for all.

The Test & Validation team is responsible for ensuring that the systems powering NEO perform reliably in the real world. We develop the infrastructure, methodologies, and data that allow engineering teams to understand system performance, uncover weaknesses, and validate designs before they reach production.

Working across hardware, controls, firmware, and robotics teams, we provide the objective evidence that drives engineering decisions and helps transform promising prototypes into robust products.

Own the characterization, testing, and validation of electric motors and robotic actuators that enable NEO's movement. Your work will generate the performance data, reliability insights, and validation frameworks needed to ensure our actuator systems meet demanding requirements for efficiency, durability, safety, and real-world operation.

As a Test & Validation Engineer, you'll play a critical role in closing the loop between design, implementation, and product performance, helping engineering teams make faster and more informed decisions.

• Deliver accurate, repeatable actuator and motor performance characterization across operating conditions and use cases
• Build and maintain scalable test infrastructure that enables efficient validation throughout development and production cycles
• Identify performance limitations, reliability risks, and failure modes early enough to influence design decisions and reduce program risk
• Provide high-quality test data and actionable insights that improve actuator performance, efficiency, and robustness
• Support successful product releases through comprehensive validation, regression testing, and cross-functional collaboration

• Strong experimental mindset with the ability to design tests that answer meaningful engineering questions
• Excellent hands-on engineering skills with electromechanical systems, instrumentation, and laboratory equipment
• Strong analytical and data interpretation skills with attention to detail and measurement quality
• Ability to collaborate effectively across hardware, firmware, controls, and systems engineering teams
• Ownership mentality with a passion for building reliable test processes and improving product quality

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Robotics, or a related field and 5 years of experience.
• Experience testing electromechanical systems, actuators, motors, or power electronics
• Strong hands-on experience with laboratory equipment, instrumentation, and hardware debugging
• Experience analyzing test data and communicating results to engineering stakeholders
• Ability to work effectively across multidisciplinary engineering teams

• Experience with motor dynamo meters, actuator test benches, or robotic hardware validation
• Familiarity with motor control systems and actuator performance characterization
• Experience with test automation, scripting, and automated data collection workflows
• Exposure to reliability, durability, environmental, or lifetime testing methodologies
• Experience supporting hardware bring-up, root-cause analysis, and failure…