Manufacturing Test Engineer

OpenAI OpenAI · AI Frontier · San Francisco, CA · Scaling

OpenAI is seeking a Manufacturing Test Engineer to own and drive the manufacturing test strategy, development, and execution for complex AI hardware systems. This role involves defining and implementing test coverage across the product lifecycle, collaborating with cross-functional teams, and ensuring manufacturing test readiness from early development through volume production. The engineer will analyze test data, debug failures, improve yield, and drive continuous improvement of test processes for AI hardware.

What you'd actually do

  1. Define and drive the manufacturing test strategy for boards, trays, and system-level hardware assemblies across EVT, DVT, PVT, and production ramp.
  2. Develop and manage test coverage for: ICT / structural test, FCT / board-level functional test, Tray-level functional and integration test, System-level manufacturing and bring-up test
  3. Partner closely with electrical engineering, system engineering, and diagnostic/software teams to define test requirements, review manufacturing test scripts and diagnostics, validate failure isolation needs, debug hooks, logging, and production screening strategies.
  4. Translate engineering requirements into practical, scalable manufacturing test plans that balance coverage matrices; review and approve EVT/DVT/PVT and production test plans, pass/fail criteria and release gates while balancing coverage, test time, debug efficiency, cost, and production throughput.
  5. Collaborate with system integrators, JDMs, contract manufacturers, and equipment vendors to implement and qualify test stations, fixtures, automation, software, equipment configurations, calibration plans, operator procedures, golden-unit correlation and production workflows.

Skills

Required

  • Experience developing and deploying manufacturing test solutions for complex electronics, servers, networking systems, or high-performance compute hardware.
  • Understand board-level and system-level test methodologies, including ICT, boundary scan, functional test, burn-in, stress test, and production diagnostics.
  • Comfortable working across both engineering development and factory execution, and can bridge the gap between design intent and production implementation.
  • Strong hands-on debugging skills and can use test data, BMC/Host logs, diagnostic logs, power & thermal telemetry, schematics, and lab measurements to identify root causes efficiently and drive corrective action.
  • Communicate clearly with internal teams and external partners, especially when aligning on requirements, debugging ambiguous issues, and driving closure under schedule pressure.
  • Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.
  • 5+ years of experience in manufacturing test engineering, product test, NPI test development, or related hardware test roles.
  • Experience with one or more of the following on servers and/or AI Accelerators: ICT or structural board test, Board-level functional test development, Tray, chassis, or system-level manufacturing test, Production diagnostics and debug workflows, Test fixture, rack, or station development
  • Experience working with contract manufacturers, JDMs, system integrators, or test equipment vendors to deploy and sustain production test solutions.
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with experience reviewing test data, yield, failure trends, and manufacturing metrics.
  • Ability to work cross-functionally with hardware engineering, diagnostics/software, manufacturing, quality, and supplier teams.

Nice to have

  • Experience with server and AI accelerators plus networking, power, or data center hardware systems.
  • Experience reviewing or developing manufacturing test automation, Python/Bash or similar scripts, Linux-based diagnostics, data pipelines, CI/release controls, and test software

What the JD emphasized

  • AI hardware systems
  • AI workloads
  • AI accelerators