We are looking for a hands-on Software Test Engineer to ensure the quality and reliability of software solutions used in real-world sensing and data processing systems.
Optics11 is a deep-tech company developing advanced fiber-optic sensing technologies for challenging environments and applications in energy and underwater security. Our systems enable high-performance sensing and monitoring through advanced photonics, signal processing, and data-driven intelligence.
We are expanding our R&D team with a Software Test Engineer who is passionate about quality, structured validation, and delivering robust software in complex engineering environments.
As a Software Test Engineer, you will be responsible for defining and executing practical software tests to validate software components (including algorithms, cloud back-end, and user interfaces) that process sensor signals generated by fiber-optic sensing systems. You will work closely with data scientists, signal processing specialists, back-end developers, and software architects to ensure that products meet functional and non-functional requirements.
This role requires a hands-on professional with a proactive mindset, a structured approach to software testing, strong attention to detail, and the ability to understand complex technical systems and translate requirements into effective test strategies.
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Perform functional, integration, regression, system, and end-to-end testing across edge devices, cloud services, APIs, databases, and graphical user interfaces.
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Define test strategies, test plans, test cases, acceptance criteria, and automated test scripts for an edge and cloud software platforms.
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Identify, document, and track software defects, ensuring clear reproduction steps and proper follow-up.
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Collaborate with product owners, developers and engineers to understand system requirements and ensure test coverage.
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Contribute to the development and maintenance of automated test frameworks and pipelines.
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Test edge–cloud behaviour under interrupted connectivity, delayed or duplicated messages, device restarts, software updates, and synchronization failures.
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Validate software performance, reliability, and stability under different operating conditions.
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Support testing of software running on edge hardware, including hardware–software integration in laboratory and field environments.
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Analyse test results and provide clear, actionable feedback to development teams.
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Ensure traceability between requirements, test cases, and test results.
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Integrate automated tests into GitLab CI/CD pipelines and help define appropriate quality gates.
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Contribute to continuous improvement of testing processes, tools, and quality standards.
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Participate in release readiness reviews and ensure software meets quality benchmarks before deployment.
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Join one of Europe’s most promising deep-tech scale-ups.
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Shape the future of a rapidly growing multidisciplinary R&D organization.
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Competitive salary and benefits package.
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Enjoy regular team activities and company events.
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Fresh team lunches provided 3 times/week.
Technical skills
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Familiarity with test management and bug tracking tools (e.g., Jira, TestRail).
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Programming or scripting skills (e.g., Python, C++, Javascript or similar).
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Experience developing automated tests using tools such as Pytest, Playwright, Cypress, Selenium, or comparable frameworks.
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Experience testing web-based graphical user interfaces.
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Experience testing REST APIs, back-end services, or distributed software components.
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Experience with Docker, AWS, Gitlab , Linux and CI/CD pipelines.
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Ability to design structured, maintainable, and reproducible automated tests.
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Familiarity with behaviour-driven development and Gherkin specifications.
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A degree in computer science, software engineering, embedded systems, or a related technical discipline or equivalent practical experience.
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Proven experience in software testing or quality assurance.
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Strong understanding of software testing methodologies and lifecycle.
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Experience with both exploratory/manual testing and automated testing.
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Experience testing integrated systems rather than only isolated software components.
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Proactive in identifying risks and gaps in requirements and investigating failures across multiple system components.
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Pragmatic and hands-on when working with hardware, software, test environments, and imperfect real-world data.
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Able to work independently while collaborating closely with different engineering disciplines.
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Able to communicate technical problems and quality risks clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Nice to Have:
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Experience with AWS or another cloud platform.
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Experience testing data-driven or signal-processing systems.
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Knowledge of embedded systems and hardware–software integration.
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Experience testing unreliable-network, offline, reconnection, synchronization, and recovery scenarios.
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Experience in high-tech, industrial, or defense-related environments.
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Experience with LabVIEW
Security & Compliance:
You'll be working with clients in the defense and security sectors, obtaining a Certificate of No Objection issued by the AIVD (Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service) is mandatory. This means you will need to undergo a security screening. For more information, please refer to details on security screening.
