Staff QA Engineer - Cinema Imaging

As a Staff QA Engineer in the Dolby Cinema QA group, you will provide senior test leadership for next-generation cinema imaging products and integrated theatrical systems. This is a highly hands-on role requiring regular on-site work in Dolby’s San Francisco hardware labs.

You will own test strategy, planning, lab readiness, system configuration, execution, risk assessment, and release-quality reporting across complex imaging programs involving projectors, cinema servers, networking, and related infrastructure.

You will also serve as a key technical interface with external hardware partners and help advance practical AI-assisted QA tools that improve test efficiency and coverage.

Responsibilities

• Lead QA strategy and end-to-end test ownership for high-priority cinema imaging products, from early development through release readiness.

• Design, set up, configure, document, and maintain cinema hardware labs and test environments involving projectors, cinema servers/integrated media blocks, network systems, measurement equipment, and supporting infrastructure.

• Perform hands-on functional, integration, system, interoperability, performance, reliability, upgrade, and regression testing on complex cinema systems.

• Develop comprehensive test plans, test cases, test matrices, and release criteria based on product requirements, architecture, technical risk, customer use cases, and field configurations.

• Own picture-quality and video-path validation, including calibration, image evaluation, video playback, color processing, signal integrity, metadata handling, multi-projector configurations, and 3D imaging workflows.

• Configure and troubleshoot complete cinema systems, isolate failures across hardware, firmware, software, networking, and content boundaries, and work closely with engineering teams to drive issues to resolution.

• Provide technical leadership for multiple concurrent programs and communicate test status, coverage, defects, quality risks, dependencies, and schedule impacts to engineering and business stakeholders.

• Serve as the primary QA interface with external projector and hardware partners, including alignment on test standards, issue escalation, defect reproduction, release readiness, and cross-company coordination.

• Produce high-quality defect reports and lead defect triage, root-cause investigation, reproduction, prioritization, and verification of fixes.

• Mentor QA engineers and provide technical direction on imaging test design, lab practices, troubleshooting, and quality decision-making.

• Identify opportunities to improve test efficiency and coverage through appropriate scripting, automation, data analysis, AI-assisted workflows, and custom QA tools, while maintaining strong hands-on system validation.

• Collaborate across QA, imaging engineering, systems engineering, product management, program management, operations, and field teams in a fast-paced product development environment.

Requirements

• Minimum 7+ years of experience in quality assurance, systems testing, hardware validation, or a related engineering discipline, including ownership of complex test plans and product releases.

• Demonstrated experience leading QA for video, imaging, projection, display, media, broadcast, cinema, or other complex hardware-software systems.

• Strong hands-on lab experience configuring, operating, testing, and troubleshooting integrated systems that include devices such as projectors, video servers, audio processors, amplifiers, networking equipment, and measurement tools.

• Proven experience of implementing and maintaining scalable and reusable Python based test automation frameworks/tools/tests using various tools/libraries like Pytest, Selenium, etc using Python.

• Proven experience integrating test automation tool/frameworks within CI/CD pipeline hosted on Gitlab CI, Electric Flow, or similar

• Deep understanding of digital imaging and video fundamentals, including video formats, color spaces, transfer functions, media containers, signal paths, HDMI and/or SDI, image processing, and picture-quality evaluation.

• Experience with Digital Cinema technologies and workflows such as DCP, MXF, JPEG 2000, Dolby Vision, HDR, DCI color workflows, cinema servers, integrated media blocks, projection systems, 3D, or multi-projector systems.

• Experience using video and image analysis tools, HDMI/SDI analyzers or frame grabbers, test-pattern generators, scopes, color-measurement equipment, playback/capture devices, or equivalent lab instrumentation.

• Proven ability to design and execute system-level, integration, interoperability, regression, performance, reliability, negative, and upgrade testing across hardware and software boundaries.

• Excellent troubleshooting skills and a logical, structured approach to isolating complex issues involving hardware, firmware, software, networking, content, timing, and configuration.

• Experience working with external technology partners or suppliers on test alignment, issue escalation, defect resolution, and release-quality decisions.

• Strong leadership, ownership, planning, prioritization, and communication skills, with the ability to manage multiple high-priority programs and clearly communicate quality risk to senior stakeholders.

• Proficiency with Linux/UNIX and Windows operating systems, command-line tools, logs, network troubleshooting, and common protocols such as TCP/IP, SSH, NTP, FTP, HTTP, SNMP, and SOAP/REST web services.

• Familiarity with software-development and QA practices, including Agile development, source control, code reviews, defect tracking, test-case management, release processes, and product life cycles.

• Ability to work regularly on-site in the San Francisco office to support hardware laboratories and physical cinema test systems.

Preferred Experience

• Experience testing cinema projectors, laser-illumination systems, high-brightness displays, projection optics, six-primary or stereoscopic 3D systems, or other advanced imaging architectures.

• Experience with Dolby Cinema, Dolby Vision, Christie projection systems, or comparable premium cinema and professional imaging products.

• Knowledge of JPEG 2000, HD-SDI, HDMI, DCP, MXF, Dolby Vision, PQ, DCI color specifications, display calibration, and image-quality metrics.

• Experience managing multiple hardware labs or shared test environments, including equipment readiness, configuration control, documentation, and scheduling.

• Working knowledge of Python and PyTest or similar scripting tools for targeted test utilities, data collection, analysis, or regression support.

• Experience developing or adopting AI-assisted QA tools, custom agents, or data-driven workflows to improve test design, defect analysis, coverage, or reporting.

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Imaging Science, or a related technical field.

Knowledge of These Tools Is Required

• Unix/Linux

• Python, PyTest

• Jira

• qTest

• Git, Perforce

• AI Tools (Claude, MS Copilot, Copilot Studio, Github Copilot)

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