Software Engineer in Test, Core Technology (12-month contract)

Nex is on a mission to help families rediscover the joy of movement. Created by parents for parents, Nex combines technology and play to deliver fun, social, and interactive experiences powered by natural body motion, encouraging kids and adults to move more, play more, and have fun together. Nex Playground, the company’s award-winning active play system, is purpose-built to get families moving year-round, with safety and privacy as core considerations in its intentional design. It is certified kidSAFE+ COPPA compliant and built to support healthy, active play for all ages and abilities.

Nex Playground features a growing library of 50+ experiences, including motion and dance games, fitness and educational experiences, and Nex Originals. Content includes collaborations with partners like Hasbro, Sesame Workshop, and NBCUniversal. Nex has been recognized by Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, TIME’s Best Inventions, and Parents’ Best Entertainment System for Families, and has earned Red Dot, IDEA, and Core77 international design awards. We encourage you to explore Have Fun  and Is Motion Gaming Back?, as they offer a deeper look into our culture, values, and explain how our approach to motion gaming differs from previous generations.

Important Notice:   To protect yourself from recruitment scams, please note that Nex communicates through official company emails ending in @nex.inc. If you receive a suspicious email or message, please do not respond and report it immediately to us.

Location: Hong Kong

Type: 12-month contract (with possibility of conversion to full-time permanent role)

The Role

As a Software Engineer in Test at Nex, you will own stability and reliability testing for the Motion Development Kit (MDK), firmware, and hardware modules that power Nex Playground's AOSP-based motion-sensing device. You will build automated test frameworks, stress/soak testing infrastructure, and validation tools that catch instability, regressions, and hardware-integration failures before they reach production. You will work closely with the Framework Engineering and firmware/hardware teams to embed testability across the full Android stack, from low-level sensor drivers and HAL layers up through the MDK APIs that game developers build on .

This role sits within a small, highly technical team that values both specialization and collaboration, with clear ownership of quality across core technology areas .

The Mindset

You are drawn to solving hard reliability problems in systems where hardware, firmware, and Android software all have to work together flawlessly, day after day. You care deeply about long-run stability, not just passing a test once, but proving a system holds up under sustained load, edge cases, and real-world conditions. You thrive in environments where deep systems debugging, Android/AOSP internals knowledge, and rigorous testing discipline directly shape what the platform can confidently ship .

What You'll Do

• Design and build automated stability and reliability test frameworks for the Motion Development Kit (MDK), firmware, and hardware modules on an AOSP-based platform
• Develop soak testing, stress testing, and endurance testing pipelines to surface memory leaks, crashes, thermal issues, ANRs, and long-running failures
• Build test harnesses and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) rigs to validate sensor, camera, and motion-tracking hardware under real and simulated conditions
• Create regression suites for firmware, HAL, and MDK releases, integrated into CI/CD to catch stability issues pre-release
• Investigate, reproduce, and drive root-cause analysis of field failures, crashes, kernel panics, and intermittent hardware/firmware defects using Android bug reports, logcat, and kernel logs
• Define and track reliability metrics such as MTBF, crash rates, ANR rates, and failure recurrence across hardware revisions and firmware/AOSP builds
• Partner with firmware, hardware, and platform engineers to define quality gates and exit criteria for new hardware/firmware/AOSP releases
• Write clean, well-tested test code and tooling that raises the engineering bar across the team
• Build dashboards and reporting for test coverage, defect trends, and release stability
• Participate in code reviews and contribute to shared tools, infrastructure, and cross-role projects (20% Time)
• Work with the dual-leadership model (Engineering Manager and Tech Lead) to align on quality priorities and technical direction
• Document test strategies, systems, and findings to support team knowledge sharing

What You Bring

• 3+ years of professional experience in software test engineering, reliability engineering, or QA for embedded/firmware, Android, or hardware-integrated systems
• Proficiency in Python, with experience in at least one systems language (C++, C#, Java, Rust, or Go)
• Hands-on experience with stability, stress, soak, or endurance testing methodologies
• Experience testing Android/AOSP platforms, HAL, embedded firmware, device drivers, or hardware modules (sensors, motion tracking, cameras, or similar)
• Strong debugging skills across hardware, firmware, and software layers, including logcat, kernel logs, bug reports, logic analyzers, or serial/hardware diagnostics
• Experience building or maintaining CI/CD pipelines and automated regression suites

Preferred

• Experience with AOSP build systems (Soong/Make), Android Test Harness, or Vendor Test Suite (VTS)/Compatibility Test Suite (CTS)
• Experience with hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) test rig design and automation
• Familiarity with embedded Linux, Android kernel internals, and Treble/HAL architecture
• Knowledge of communication protocols (I2C, SPI, UART, BLE) used in sensor and firmware integration
• Experience with reliability metrics and frameworks (MTBF, FMEA, fault injection testing)
• Familiarity with motion sensing, IMUs, computer vision, or signal processing validation
• Experience working in small, high-performance technical teams
• Background in consumer electronics, robotics, or Android-based hardware products
• Passion for pushing reliability standards and deep root-cause problem-solving

We Offer

• Competitive compensation package.
• Flexible working hours and vacation policy.
• Product-driven culture that treasures talents and individual growth.
• Front-row seat and hands-on experience with cutting edge technologies in the evolving gaming field

Nex is located in San Jose, California, USA  and Hong Kong. Learn more about us at https://www.nexplayground.com/about. 

We encourage applications even if you don’t meet more than 50% of the requirements - we believe that experience comes in many forms!

Nex is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, ancestry, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. This policy applies to all individuals at every stage of the employment relationship, including all current and prospective employees, and covers all employment decisions including recruitment, hiring, job assignment, promotion, compensation, benefits, training, discipline and termination.

We are committed to providing a workplace free from discrimination and harassment and to fostering an inclusive environment for all employees.