Quality Assurance Technician 1

About the Role

Barracuda is seeking a Quality Assurance Technician to join the Hardware Applied System’s Engineering team. This junior-level role is ideal for individuals early in their careers who are eager to learn about the lifecycle of enterprise security appliances. The position supports hardware lifecycle activities across product development, manufacturing readiness, regulatory coordination, sustaining engineering, and end-of-life planning. This is an entry-level role designed for someone early in their career or currently pursuing technical education; prior professional experience is not required, but curiosity, attention to detail, and a willingness to learn are essential.

Key Responsibilities

• Support day-to-day hardware lifecycle activities, including tracking product changes, component updates, manufacturing issues, and sustaining engineering tasks.
• Assist with hardware lab setup, such as racking and cabling new appliances and engineering samples, and installing components like CPUs, RAM, SSD/NVMe, NICs, and RAID adapters.
• Sustain and configure management interfaces, including networking/VLANs and remote access.
• Image/re-image appliances and load required firmware/software using known-good test configurations and lab inventory.
• Execute validation by creating test plans and running smoke tests after hardware changes.
• Assist with boot/reboot testing, power-cycle testing, firmware upgrade/downgrade validation, NIC/port detection, connectivity tests, and RAID/storage/NVMe validation.
• Support basic CPU, memory, and storage checks with appliance-image installation and verification.
• Support ASE quality testing.
• Assist with documentation for hardware builds, compliance records, product specifications, engineering change requests, and lifecycle milestones.
• Work with cross-functional teams (engineering, product management, logistics, procurement, manufacturing partners, support teams) to gather status updates and resolve open items.
• Help monitor hardware issues related to RMAs, replacements, component failures, and field feedback, escalating patterns or risks to senior team members.
• Assist with initial issue diagnosis and root cause analysis by collecting test results, reviewing logs, documenting symptoms, reproducing issues, and summarizing findings for senior engineers.
• Maintain organized records for hardware programs, certifications, vendor updates, and project action items.
• Learn Barracuda hardware products, development processes, regulatory requirements, and lifecycle management practices.

Requirements & Tech Stack

• Currently pursuing coursework, a certificate, an associate degree, or other technical training in engineering, computer science, information systems, networking, manufacturing, supply chain, or a related technical field; equivalent practical experience is also valued.
• 0–2 years of experience in hardware engineering, operations, manufacturing, technical support, product lifecycle management, or a related area.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to organize information across multiple projects, tools, and stakeholders.
• Comfortable working with spreadsheets, issue tracking systems, documentation tools, and collaboration platforms.
• Basic understanding of computer hardware, networking, manufacturing processes, or product development concepts.
• Quality-focused mindset with a willingness to follow engineering best practices, execute defined test steps, record results accurately, and help identify gaps or inconsistencies in hardware or software behavior.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to summarize status, risks, and next steps clearly.
• Curiosity, ownership, and willingness to learn in a fast-paced, collaborative environment.
• Internship, co-op, academic project, or entry-level experience involving hardware systems, networking devices, embedded products, manufacturing, or technical operations.
• Exposure to Jira, Confluence, Agile methods, PLM tools, ERP systems, or document control processes.
• Nice to have: exposure to basic Linux commands, software builds, system logs, or simple diagnostics; willingness to learn is more important than prior experience.
• Interest in cybersecurity, enterprise appliances, regulatory compliance, or global manufacturing.
• Ability to work with ambiguity, ask thoughtful questions, and follow through on assigned tasks.