Research Assistant Software Developer Jobs in Millbrae, CA

At Penguin Solutions (Nasdaq: PENG) - The AI Factory Platform Company - we're building a team of innovators who thrive on collaboration, creativity, and the opportunity to help shape the future of AI. As part of the AI technology revolution, our teams design, build, deploy, and manage AI factories for enterprises, sovereign AI initiatives, and neocloud providers worldwide.

Headquartered in Silicon Valley, California, Penguin Solutions operates globally through a network of R&D, manufacturing, and sales locations. For nearly three decades, we have operated at the intersection of memory and AI/HPC infrastructure. That engineering expertise positions us to power the next generation of AI workloads, from training to inference and agentic AI at scale.

Penguin Solutions brings together differentiated infrastructure software, advanced memory, compute systems, end-to-end services, and industry-leading partner solutions in a full-stack AI factory platform designed to help customers deploy and scale AI workloads with speed and precision.

At Penguin Solutions, we value ideas over hierarchy and believe in servant leadership, where leaders enable teams to do their best work. We empower employees to take ownership, drive innovation, and grow through challenging work, continuous learning, and exposure to advanced AI tools and technologies. With flexibility where it matters and a strong focus on outcomes, Penguin Solutions is a place to do your best work, grow your career, and make a meaningful impact.

Job Overview

We are seeking a Test Software Developer in Newark, CA to design, build, and maintain automated testing frameworks for advanced motherboards. This role requires the ability to work with moderate independence, translate hardware validation needs into reliable software tools, and contribute to maintainable team coding practices. Your core focus will include motherboard, chipset, and BIOS/UEFI interaction, with special emphasis on DRAM testing, thermal characterization, and AI inference workload testing. You will use Cursor as a primary AI-assisted development environment and collaborate through GitLab and/or GitHub using disciplined branching, code review, merge request, and issue-tracking workflows.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and deploy automated testing frameworks and software tools for server and enterprise motherboards, emphasizing maintainability and repeatability.
• Develop Python, Bash, and Linux-based applications that interact with motherboard chipsets, BIOS/UEFI, and low-level hardware interfaces for automated validation.
• Create and maintain test methodologies targeting DRAM performance, stability, margining, and thermal characterization on motherboards.
• Configure enterprise-grade server systems to execute AI inference and heavy workload testing, evaluating hardware behavior under realistic stress conditions.
• Utilize and script against Linux-based diagnostic and management tools, including ipmitool, dmidecode, and i2c-tools, to monitor and troubleshoot hardware.
• Use Cursor to accelerate software development, debugging, refactoring, documentation, and test-case generation while maintaining reviewable code quality.
• Collaborate through GitLab and/or GitHub using repositories, branches, commits, pull or merge requests, code reviews, and issue tracking.
• Work closely with Hardware Engineering, Validation, and Manufacturing teams to translate complex diagnostics into reliable automated applications for continuous testing and validation.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field with typically 3-5 years of relevant experience.
• Practical understanding of motherboard architectures, chipset behavior, BIOS/UEFI operations, and hardware-software integration.
• Proven experience developing automated hardware test software, including DRAM stress, stability, margining, and thermal characterization.
• Hands-on experience setting up, configuring, and maintaining enterprise server hardware for AI inference and workload testing.
• Strong proficiency in Python and Bash scripting for full-stack tool creation, test automation, logging, and validation workflows.
• Hands-on expertise using Linux motherboard management and low-level communication tools, particularly ipmitool, dmidecode, and i2c-tools.
• Demonstrated experience using Cursor or similar AI-assisted development environments to write, debug, refactor, and document software effectively.
• Working experience with GitLab and/or GitHub workflows, including branching, pull or merge requests, code reviews, issue tracking, and disciplined commits.
• Excellent interpersonal skills with strong English verbal and written communication capabilities for local, cross-site, and international teams.
• Ability to work with moderate independence, break down ambiguous validation needs, and contribute to reusable tools, documentation, and coding standards.

Location

This opportunity is in Newark, CA.

Travel

Willingness to travel occasionally to other sites and industry events as needed.

Compensation & Benefits

The base pay range that the Company reasonably expects to pay for this position in Newark, CA is $90,000 - 105,000; the pay ultimately offered may vary based on business considerations, including job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and education. The position is bonus-eligible, and there are medical, dental, and vision benefits available. There is a 401k saving plan and other benefits, such as Paid Time Off, Life Insurance, and an Employee Assistance Plan.   

Inclusion & Belonging Statement

We are committed to creating an inclusive environment that embraces differences and fosters belonging for all.

Equal Opportunity Statement                                                                                  

We are an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer and strongly committed to all policies which will afford equal opportunity employment to all qualified persons without regard to age, national origin, race, ethnicity, creed, gender, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.