Software QA Engineer Jobs in California

Bring more to life.

Are you ready to accelerate your potential and make a real difference within life sciences, diagnostics and biotechnology?

At Molecular Devices, one of Danaher’s 15+ operating companies, our work saves lives and we’re all united by a shared commitment to innovate for tangible impact.

You’ll thrive in a culture of belonging where you and your unique viewpoint matter. And by harnessing Danaher’s system of continuous improvement, you help turn ideas into impact, innovating at the speed of life.

Join Molecular Devices and help drive scientific discovery for life science customers in academia, biotech, pharma, and government. Our automated and AI-enabled technology empowers researchers to tackle complex questions and gain deep insights, accelerating the development of safer, more effective therapeutics. As part of our team, rooted in collaboration, authenticity, and innovation, you’ll ultimately contribute to groundbreaking science that enhances lives globally and shapes a healthier future for all.

Learn about the Danaher Business System which makes everything possible.

The Senior Software QA Engineer is responsible for driving software quality strategy and comprehensive manual testing for key Molecular Devices software products, from sprint-level execution through full release cycles. This role defines test approaches, coverage models, quality standards, and data-driven quality metrics to reduce release risk and improve product readiness across complex imaging, acquisition, and analysis software workflows.

This position reports to the Software Engineering Manager and is part of the R&D – Software Engineering team located at Molecular Devices in San Jose, CA and will be an on-site role.

In this role, you will have the opportunity to:

• Own and drive QA strategy for key software products, including test architecture, coverage models, and quality standards across Agile sprint execution and product release cycles.
• Establish and enforce testing standards and best practices for manual test planning, test case design, exploratory testing, regression testing, test documentation, and defect lifecycle management using Jira or equivalent tools.
• Champion quality early in the development lifecycle by participating in requirements reviews, architecture discussions, and sprint grooming for imaging, acquisition, and analysis software workflows.
• Drive continuous improvement of QA processes using Danaher Business System principles to reduce waste, rework, and systemic quality gaps, while collaborating cross-functionally with software engineers, product owners, application scientists, and hardware teams.

The essential requirements of the job include:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related technical field.
• 5+ years experience in software quality assurance, including ownership of manual test strategy, test planning, test case design, execution, and defect management for complex software products.
• Strong hands-on experience with manual functional, integration, system, exploratory, and regression testing; familiarity or experience with creating and troubleshooting automated tests is a plus.
• Experience validating software builds, documenting test results, investigating failures, and supporting release-readiness decisions; experience with CI/CD tools is a plus.
• Experience using Jira or equivalent defect tracking and lifecycle management tools for defect management, test planning, sprint reporting, and cross-team quality visibility.

Travel, Motor Vehicle Record & Physical/Environment Requirements:

• Ability to work in an office and laboratory/instrument environment as needed to support software verification and instrument-software integration testing.
• Occasional travel may be required for cross-site collaboration, product validation, or team/customer engagement; specific travel requirements to be confirmed by the hiring manager.

It would be a plus if you also possess previous experience in:

• Imaging, acquisition, and analysis software platforms in a life science or laboratory instrument environment.
• Hardware-software integration testing for lab instrument systems such as imaging platforms, automated liquid handlers, or robotic workflows.

Molecular Devices, a Danaher operating company, offers a broad array of comprehensive, competitive benefit programs that add value to our lives. Whether it’s a health care program or paid time off, our programs contribute to life beyond the job. Check out our benefits at Danaher Benefits Info.

The annual salary range for this role is $135,000 - $150,000. This is the range that we in good faith believe is the range of possible compensation for this role at the time of this posting. This range may be modified in the future.

This job is also eligible for bonus/incentive pay.

We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off, medical/dental/vision insurance and 401(k) to eligible employees.

Note: No amount of pay is considered to be wages or compensation until such amount is earned, vested, and determinable. The amount and availability of any bonus, commission, benefits, or any other form of compensation and benefits that are allocable to a particular employee remains in the Company's sole discretion unless and until paid and may be modified at the Company’s sole discretion, consistent with the law.

Join our winning team today. Together, we’ll accelerate the real-life impact of tomorrow’s science and technology. We partner with customers across the globe to help them solve their most complex challenges, architecting solutions that bring the power of science to life.

For more information, visit www.danaher.com.