Middle QA Engineer (RnD / onboard software)
First seen by Alion on Oct 29, 2026.
About us
DroneOps specializes in advanced navigational systems for UAV operations. Our focus is on developing robust solutions that enhance UAV autonomy and reliability, facilitating operations in environments where traditional GPS may be compromised. Our technology is designed to be integrated across a range of UAV platforms, delivering precision, resilience and cost-effective enhancements to existing hardware.
Overview
We are looking for a QA Engineer to own quality for our R&D software team that builds onboard navigation software for UAVs.
This is a hands-on lab and process role, not a pure web-automation job. You will test internal R&D tooling, run and verify camera and sensor calibration on real devices, and own pre-release and release checks so that every candidate version is validated on hardware before it reaches flights or users.
Our team is small and cross-functional. You will sit next to the engineers who build the product. We do not expect you to already know our full stack — if you are solid at QA, careful with checklists and logs, and comfortable in a Linux terminal (SSH, reading output, following a how-to), we will teach you the rest.
Must-have skills
1.5–3+ years of commercial experience in QA (mid-level; we grow people who learn fast)
Strong manual testing: test design, regression and exploratory testing, bug life cycle
Writing test cases, checklists, verification reports, and clear bug reports (steps, expected vs actual, attachments)
Linux terminal: SSH, navigating the filesystem, copying logs, following shell how-tos
Git at a basic level (pull, checkout, reading diffs / commit history)
Turning a test run into a short release quality summary the team can act on (go / no-go, what failed, where)
At least Intermediate English (reading docs, written async communication); Ukrainian for day-to-day team talk
Nice to have skills
Hands-on experience with Raspberry Pi, embedded Linux, or any single-board computer
Docker / docker-compose (running a container from a how-to is enough to start)
Camera or sensor calibration experience (robotics, computer vision, or industrial setups)
Hardware–software integration testing (bench stands, serial / USB devices, reading device logs)
Python for small test scripts or tooling (nice, not required on day one)
Test reporting tools (Allure, TestRail, Qase, or similar)
Ability to work with physical hardware carefully: connect cables, flash or set up a device from a documented procedure, notice when something looks wrong
Your tasks may include
Testing R&D tooling
Manual testing of internal tools used for development, integration, calibration and log analysis
Reviewing tickets early and flagging gaps or untestable criteria before work ships
Maintaining regression checklists for the areas you own
Filing bugs with enough context (version, device, stage, logs) that engineers can reproduce quickly
Calibration and hardware checks
Performing and verifying camera and sensor calibration on navigation modules (including day and thermal cameras) using documented procedures
Checking that calibration outputs look sane and escalating odd results
Flashing or provisioning test devices, connecting them to a hardware-in-the-loop bench, and running smoke and stability checks over SSH
Collecting device and system logs and calibration artifacts to support bug reports
Pre-release and release verification
Owning pre-release verification for release candidates: prepare the device, run verify and smoke checks, calibrate, and run multi-hour stability tests on the agreed test setups
Supporting release verification: clear pass / fail status, known issues, and go / no-go input before a version goes further
Triaging failures: product bug vs procedure / environment vs flaky tooling — and routing to the right person
Keeping verification checklists and how-tos accurate as processes evolve
Working with engineers on test data, fixtures and bench environments so checks stay repeatable
What we offer
Competitive salary
Office in Kyiv with shelter access, generator and Starlink
On-site work with access to hardware and lab facilities
Possibility of hybrid work format (lab days required for hardware verification)
Impact on improving our country's defense capabilities
21 days of vacation + public holidays, sick leaves