Software Quality Assurance Manager – IEEE 802.15.4 / Zigbee / OpenThread
Silicon Labs · Hyderabad
Silicon Labs (NASDAQ: SLAB) is the leading innovator in low-power wireless connectivity, building embedded technology that connects devices and improves lives. Merging cutting-edge technology into the world’s most highly integrated SoCs, Silicon Labs provides device makers the solutions, support, and ecosystems needed to create advanced edge connectivity applications. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Silicon Labs has operations in over 16 countries and is the trusted partner for innovative solutions in the smart home, industrial IoT, and smart cities markets. Learn more at www.silabs.com.
The Role
Silicon Labs is building a world-class Software Centre of Excellence in Hyderabad, and we are looking for an experienced Software Quality Assurance (SQA) Manager to build and lead our IEEE 802.15.4, Zigbee, and OpenThread QA team.
This team will be responsible for driving the quality of software and firmware for Silicon Labs EFR wireless SoCs, with primary focus on IEEE 802.15.4-based connectivity solutions, including Zigbee and Thread/OpenThread. The team will also validate relevant end-to-end ecosystems such as Matter over Thread and interoperability with devices, controllers, border routers, and third-party implementations.
The manager will combine strong people leadership with sufficient technical depth to guide validation strategy, quality engineering, automation, interoperability, and release readiness for low-power mesh networking products used across smart home, industrial, commercial, and other IoT markets.
This position is based out of Silicon Labs, Hyderabad. The role requires close collaboration with global teams across the USA and Europe and therefore requires flexibility in work hours to accommodate meetings and stakeholder engagement later in the day.
What You Will Do
- Lead, build, and manage a high-performing SQA team in Hyderabad focused on IEEE 802.15.4, Zigbee, and Thread/OpenThread technologies.
- Own people management responsibilities including hiring, onboarding, resource planning, mentoring, performance management, career development, and retention of a highly skilled QA organization.
- Drive validation strategy and execution for Silicon Labs EFR-based IEEE 802.15.4 solutions, with deep focus on Zigbee and OpenThread/Thread and relevant Matter over Thread use cases.
- Ensure comprehensive quality coverage across protocol functionality, network formation and operation, security, interoperability, system integration, negative and stress scenarios, performance, reliability, and regression testing.
- Guide validation of representative Zigbee behaviors and ecosystems, including commissioning/network formation, routing and mesh behavior, application-layer interactions, security, interoperability, and long-duration network stability.
- Guide validation of Thread/OpenThread networking, including commissioning/attachment, mesh formation and routing, IPv6/6LoWPAN behavior, security, border-router interactions, interoperability, and network robustness.
- Partner closely with protocol-stack development, firmware, embedded software, applications, program management, product teams, and global engineering organizations to align priorities, schedules, defect resolution, and release readiness.
- Establish measurable quality processes and metrics covering test effectiveness, automation, defect trends, regressions, release risk, and execution predictability.
- Drive scalable automation for protocol and system validation, reduce legacy/manual test backlog, and steer automation architecture toward reusable, maintainable frameworks and lab infrastructure.
- Drive interoperability and ecosystem validation with third-party devices and implementations, and support readiness for relevant Zigbee, Thread, and Matter certification activities.
- Regularly communicate project status, quality metrics, risks, trade-offs, and mitigation plans to local and global leadership.
- Champion continuous improvement in QA methodologies, tools, infrastructure, engineering productivity, and team effectiveness.
- Drive adoption of modern engineering productivity practices, including responsible use of Gen AI-assisted development and QA tools, to improve automation velocity, debugging efficiency, and engineering effectiveness.
What We Are Looking For
- Proven experience building and managing software quality assurance, software development in test, or embedded wireless validation teams, preferably in the semiconductor or wireless connectivity domain.
- Strong technical understanding of IEEE 802.15.4 and hands-on experience testing, validating, debugging, or developing Zigbee and/or Thread/OpenThread solutions. Strong candidates should have depth in at least one of Zigbee or OpenThread and meaningful working knowledge of the other.
- Solid understanding of low-power mesh networking concepts, including network formation, addressing, routing, security, commissioning, interoperability, and behavior under scale, interference, and long-duration operation.
- Working knowledge of Zigbee architecture and ecosystem concepts such as Zigbee application profiles/device behavior, Zigbee Cluster Library (ZCL), commissioning, security, and mesh networking.
- Working knowledge of Thread/OpenThread architecture and ecosystem concepts such as IPv6, 6LoWPAN, mesh routing, device roles, commissioning, security, and Thread Border Router interactions.
- Experience validating embedded software and firmware on MCU- and wireless SoC-based systems, including system-level debugging across host, stack, radio, and application boundaries.
- Experience with interoperability, certification-oriented validation, or ecosystem testing involving multiple vendors/devices.
- Strong understanding of data communications and networking concepts and the ability to translate protocol requirements and customer use cases into effective validation strategies.
- Experience working closely with cross-functional global teams including development, program management, product, and field/application engineering, with the ability to work flexibly across time zones supporting teams in the USA and Europe.
- Strong track record of driving execution, prioritizing across concurrent deliverables, resolving project risks, and delivering to schedule commitments.
- Experience with CI/CD workflows, automated regression systems, test infrastructure, and quality practices.
- Proficiency in Python for test automation and debugging; working knowledge of C/C++ and embedded debugging is strongly preferred.
- Strong working knowledge of Git and issue/project tracking tools such as Jira.
- Strong communication, stakeholder management, and leadership skills, with a creative, pragmatic, hands-on, and problem-solving leadership style.
Experience Required
- 12+ years of overall experience in embedded software, wireless connectivity, networking, or related engineering fields, with substantial experience in IEEE 802.15.4-based technologies.
- 2+ years of experience directly managing an engineering/SQA team of approximately 5–8 members, including hiring, performance management, mentoring, resource planning, and delivery ownership.
- Demonstrated ownership of quality or engineering deliverables for production software/firmware releases.
- Ability to operate independently, make sound technical and execution trade-offs, and drive results with minimal supervision.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with Silicon Labs EFR platforms, Simplicity Studio, Gecko SDK, or comparable wireless SoC platforms and SDKs.
- Deep experience in either Zigbee or Thread/OpenThread protocol-stack validation or development, with practical exposure to the other technology.
- Experience with Zigbee certification/interoperability programs, Thread certification, Matter certification, or related ecosystem test events.
- Experience validating Matter over Thread, including interactions among end devices, commissioners/controllers, and Thread Border Routers.
- Experience with protocol analyzers and packet sniffers such as Wireshark and IEEE 802.15.4 capture/debug tools, as well as embedded development/debug environments.
- Experience designing scalable automated test beds, RF/network test infrastructure, device farms, and long-duration or large-network validation environments.
- Familiarity with coexistence considerations involving IEEE 802.15.4 and other 2.4 GHz radios such as Bluetooth LE or Wi-Fi.
- Demonstrated experience applying Generative AI tools such as GitHub Copilot, Cursor, or similar platforms to an engineering productivity or quality initiative.
Education
Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Electronics/Communication Engineering, Computer Science, or a related discipline preferred; equivalent relevant education and experience will also be considered.
Benefits & Perks :
Not only will you be joining a highly skilled and tight-knit team where every engineer makes a significant impact on the product; we also strive for good work/life balance and to make our environment welcoming and fun.
Equity Rewards (RSUs)
Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP)
Insurance plans with Outpatient cover
National Pension Scheme (NPS)
Flexible work policy
Childcare support
Silicon Labs is an equal opportunity employer and values the diversity of our employees. Employment decisions are made on the basis of qualifications and job-related criteria without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.