Spring 2027 Hardware Quality Co-op

Spring 2027 Hardware Quality Co-op

The Quality Co-op - Verification & Validation will work directly as a member of the Scoop™ engineering quality team, supporting targeted test planning, execution, and documentation for deployed and developing electromechanical systems. This role is centered on translating design intent, manufacturing variation, factory acceptance testing observations, and field failure patterns into practical verification and validation test methods. The co-op will collaborate closely with mechanical, electrical, software, manufacturing, quality, and field teams to define acceptance criteria, capture clear evidence, characterize system behavior, and improve system reliability. In addition to hands-on testing, the co-op will help develop reusable test documentation, trackers, and lightweight analysis tools that improve the consistency and usefulness of V&V and manufacturing quality work.

This role will be onsite at the Bedford, MA office.  This position will run from approximately January to June 2027 (dates flexible).

Functions:

• Plan and execute targeted verification and validation tests for Scoop™ subassemblies, mechanisms, sensors, and system integration points.
• Develop clear test procedures, setup instructions, measurement methods, and pass/fail criteria based on design intent and expected system behavior.
• Support development, manufacture, and operation of test fixtures and test articles needed to reproduce issues, characterize design margins, or validate acceptance criteria.
• Characterize the range of manufacturing and assembly variation that the system can tolerate, using controlled test conditions and documented evidence.
• Expand factory acceptance testing and sub-assembly FAT protocols to better cover issues observed in manufacturing, integration, and deployed systems.
• Support lab or manufacturing reproductions of field issues using logs, camera/video review, inspection notes, sensor data, and hardware observations.
• Collect, organize, and analyze test results to identify trends, deviations, recurring failure modes, and opportunities for reliability improvement.
• Build concise technical summaries that connect test evidence to conclusions, recommended actions, and open questions.
• Maintain reusable V&V assets such as test report templates, setup checklists, issue trackers, acceptance criteria libraries, and evidence folders.
• Work across mechanical, electrical, software, manufacturing, quality, and field teams to gather input and close gaps during test planning and execution.
• Support continuous improvement efforts related to manufacturing quality, build readiness, field reliability, and data visibility.

Qualifications:

• Actively pursuing a bachelor's or master's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, Systems Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field.
• Interest in verification and validation, test engineering, reliability, quality engineering, robotics, or electromechanical systems.
• Basic understanding of mechanical and electrical systems, including sensors, actuators, mechanisms, drawings, tolerances, and assembly variation.
• Experience with CAD for reviewing or creating mechanical designs and test fixtures; SolidWorks preferred.
• Strong analytical and troubleshooting skills, especially when working with incomplete information or complex system behavior.
• Ability to write clear test plans, procedures, acceptance criteria, technical summaries, and investigation notes.
• Experience with data analysis or scripting tools such as Excel, Python, MATLAB, Kibana, or similar.
• Ability to interpret test results, logs, camera/video evidence, inspection findings, and hardware observations together to form clear conclusions.
• Detail-oriented and disciplined about documenting configurations, assumptions, results, deviations, and follow-up actions.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to ask effective technical questions and work across teams.
• Ability to work effectively in a hands-on engineering, manufacturing, and lab environment.

COOP-2624