Associate Manager Hardware Test Engineering

Job Description

Cricut is seeking to hire an experienced and hands‑on Associate Manager, HW Test Engineering to join our Hardware Quality Engineering team. This is a player‑coach role responsible for both directly contributing to hardware test strategy, test planning, execution, troubleshooting, and data analysis, while also providing day‑to‑day leadership for a small team of Hardware Test Engineers and Hardware QA Testers.

You will be responsible for helping formulate test strategies, developing and executing test plans for new and existing products based on product requirements, engineering specifications, and potential customer use cases. This role will supervise and mentor team members, support test execution, review results and documentation, drive root‑cause analysis, and communicate product quality risks to cross‑functional teams throughout the product development lifecycle.

• Lead, coach, and support a small hardware quality test team, likely including one Hardware Test Engineer and multiple Hardware QA Testers
• Serve as a hands‑on technical contributor by developing, executing, and reviewing hardware test plans for new and existing products
• Assign and prioritize daily test activities, lab work, data collection, troubleshooting, and reporting across the team
  Train, mentor, and provide technical guidance to engineers, testers, technicians, and lab personnel
• Review test data, defect findings, failure analysis, and documentation to ensure accuracy, consistency, and completeness
• Analyze materials and data, conduct tests, troubleshoot issues, monitor performance, and ensure quality control during product development stages
• Develop and improve methods of testing, including repeatable test procedures, fixtures, jigs, and data collection processes
• Develop test plans for thermal, humidity, vibration, shock, drop/tumble, HALT/HASS, accelerated aging, durability, reliability, and other product qualification testing
• Conduct and lead root‑cause analysis through Eight Disciplines (8D), fishbone analysis, 5‑Why, or similar methods to drive corrective and preventive actions
• Use quality engineering tools and techniques such as gage R&R, SPC, DOE, Cp/Cpk, correlation analysis, and design for reliability to improve product quality and reliability
• Communicate and present defect, failure, risk, and opportunity data to cross‑functional teams
• Collaborate with Engineering, Product, Manufacturing, Supplier Quality, Operations, and Contract Manufacturing teams to validate designs, manufacturing lines, and product readiness
• Analyze and recommend product readiness at EVT, DVT, MPQ, MP, and other development gates
• Support Product Risk Analysis activities, including DFMEA, PFMEA, NUDD, Lessons Learned, and high‑risk item tracking prior to validating final designs
• Support QA concerns in meetings with cross‑functional and project teams
• Maintain test equipment, lab organization, inventories, test supplies, and calibration needs
• Help establish team best practices for documentation, test execution, data integrity, lab safety, and issue escalation
• Provide input on performance, development, workload planning, and team capability needs

• Bachelor's degree or higher in Mechanical Engineering, Material Science, Electrical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or a related technical field
• Six or more (6+) years of post‑graduate hands‑on technical work experience in hardware testing, quality engineering, reliability testing, manufacturing quality, or a related field
• Prior experience leading, mentoring, training, or supervising engineers, testers, technicians, or lab personnel
• Strong hands‑on mechanical problem‑solving and logical thinking skills
• Experience developing and executing hardware test plans based on product requirements, engineering specifications, and use cases
• Experience analyzing test data, identifying trends, troubleshooting failures, and communicating findings clearly
• Must have excellent interpersonal skills, including strong spoken and written English communication
• Self‑starter, capable of working independently while making sound technical and business judgments
• Ability to build…