St Louis-Based Hands-On QA & Device Specialist - Export Controlled Hardware & Apps

US LOCATION & ONSITE REQUIREMENT: Candidates MUST be local to the St. Louis metropolitan area and able to come onsite to our St. Louis office and warehouses for physical hardware testing, device flashing, and assembly line support. Due to US Export Control regulations (EAR/ITAR) and data compliance mandates, candidates must be eligible to handle export-controlled hardware and software. We are seeking a highly disciplined, detail-obsessed QA & Device Specialist to serve as our US hardware testing footprint for smart connected consumer devices, health hardware, companion apps, and production tooling. While our overseas engineering teams in China and India handle high-volume testing, this St. Louis role physically receives, tests, and validates US export-controlled device samples, firmware builds, and US market app integrations onsite at our office and warehouse facilities. CAREER OPPORTUNITY: This position starts as a flexible hourly contract on Upwork, but has clear potential to grow into a full-time ongoing role over time for a proven top performer as our hardware portfolio scales. Key Responsibilities: - Hands-on manual testing of physical electronic devices (smart scales, blood pressure monitors, IoT hubs, smart kitchen appliances) at our St. Louis bench setup: power cycles, button sequences, display checks, battery edge cases. - Manual firmware updating & flashing: re-flashing test devices via USB/serial/programmer tools and executing manual OTA update verification routines on US builds. - Validate Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and US LTE/cellular device connectivity (AT&T/Verizon/T-Mobile carrier profiles, telemetry sync, offline buffering). - Develop and maintain automated test scripts (Python, Playwright, Postman, PyTest, or similar) for US device APIs, mobile apps, and telemetry ingestion. - Support ops & production tooling: test warehouse line software (barcode/IMEI scanners, ZPL label printing, fulfillment APIs) directly in our St. Louis warehouse operations. - Rigorous bug reporting & global sync: log flawless defect reports with exact firmware versions, serial captures, packet logs, and coordinate findings with US leadership and overseas QA teams. Required Must-Haves: - St. Louis Local / Onsite Availability: Must be local to the St. Louis area and able to come into our office and warehouses. - US Person Status: Authorized to handle US export-controlled technology. - Absolute Attention to Detail: Meticulous, thorough, and relentless about catching edge-case bugs before code hits production. - Strict Deadline Reliability: Proven ability to hit firm testing deadlines tied to firmware release drops and US launch schedules. - 2+ years in QA testing with hands-on manual hardware & firmware testing experience. - Hands-on experience manually updating/flashing firmware onto embedded devices (ESP32, Nordic, ST, etc.) and verifying OTA updates. - Hands-on proficiency with BLE testing tools (nRF Connect, Wireshark, BLE GATT profiles). - Scripting skills in Python, TypeScript/JavaScript, or Shell for test automation. If you are a St. Louis-based hardware QA specialist with extreme attention to detail and hands-on firmware experience, please submit your proposal detailing your hardware testing background!