If you are an experienced Test Engineer, QA Engineer, Network Test Engineer or Solutions Testing professional with strong networking expertise, this opportunity at Nexthop AI could be relevant for your next career move. The company is hiring a Test Engineer for its Bengaluru team, with the role focused on platform, functional, solution and regression testing of next-generation AI networking infrastructure.
📌 Job Overview
- Company: Nexthop AI
- Role: Test Engineer
- Job/Req ID: 4510 – Engr POC/Test India
- Location: Bengaluru, Karnataka
- Work Mode: Hybrid
- Experience: 5+ Years
- Employment Type: Full-time
- Domain: AI Infrastructure / Computer Networking / Cloud
- Primary Focus: Network Testing, Manual Testing, Test Automation & Solution Testing
- Key Technologies: Python, Networking, NOS, SONiC, Ansible, Docker, SQL/NoSQL
The position specifically requires hands-on testing experience and strong knowledge of networking technologies, network protocols, network designs and deployments.
🏢 About Nexthop AI
Nexthop AI is a technology company focused on building networking products and solutions for large-scale AI deployments. Its team brings expertise across hardware, software, silicon, systems, cloud and networking, with a strong emphasis on AI infrastructure. The company is headquartered in Santa Clara and has operations including Bengaluru.
Nexthop AI describes its working environment as collaborative, customer-focused and oriented toward solving complex infrastructure problems. Its careers page highlights opportunities to work with cutting-edge technologies and participate directly in the company’s growth.
💼 What Will You Work On?
Key responsibilities include:
- Designing and maintaining testbeds for networking products.
- Qualifying software releases and tracking quality metrics.
- Developing and improving automated test scripts.
- Supporting customer-specific testing during proof-of-concept activities.
- Working with software, hardware and support engineering teams to reproduce complex faults.
- Updating automation coverage to prevent regression of previously identified defects.
This makes the position particularly relevant for professionals who enjoy working close to both software and hardware/networking systems rather than focusing exclusively on UI automation.
⭐ Why This Role Is Valuable for Experienced Professionals
For someone with 5+ years of experience, this position offers exposure beyond conventional application testing. You can work across network operating systems, traffic generation, testbeds, hardware/software troubleshooting, automation and AI infrastructure.
Experience with networking platforms such as Cisco IOS/IOS-XR, Arista EOS and Junos, combined with automation, can provide a broader systems-testing profile. The role also offers exposure to SONiC, an open networking operating system increasingly associated with modern data-center networking.
Professionals interested in moving toward Network QA, System Testing, Infrastructure Testing, SDET, Solutions Testing or AI Infrastructure QA may find the responsibilities particularly relevant.
🧠 Skills Required
- Network protocols, network architecture and deployments
- Network Operating Systems: IOS, IOS-XR, EOS, Junos
- Hands-on manual and system testing
- Test planning and testbed management
- Network troubleshooting and fault reproduction
- Traffic generators and network test hardware/software
- Python scripting
- SONiC / Open Networking
- C/C++ fundamentals
- Ansible automation
- Docker/container technologies
- SQL/NoSQL databases
- Strong debugging, documentation and communication
- AI-assisted development tools such as Gemini, Copilot or Augment
🎯 Interview Rounds
- Round 1 – Recruiter/HR Screening: Experience, notice period, location, compensation and role alignment.
- Round 2 – Technical Networking Round: Network protocols, NOS, troubleshooting, traffic generators, test strategy and real-world scenarios.
- Round 3 – Automation/Problem-Solving: Python scripting, automation approach, debugging and possibly coding/problem-solving.
- Round 4 – Hiring Manager/Panel: Project experience, customer/POC scenarios, collaboration with hardware/software teams and ownership.
💰 Expected Salary Range
Public salary estimates for this specific Test Engineer opening vary. Glassdoor listings currently show estimates ranging from ₹4–8 LPA on one listing and ₹2–10 LPA on another. These are third-party estimates rather than a confirmed employer-provided salary range, so actual compensation may depend on experience, technical fit and the final offer.
📚 Preparation Tips
- Master networking fundamentals: Revise TCP/IP, VLAN, routing, switching, BGP, OSPF, L2/L3 concepts and packet-flow troubleshooting.
- Prepare NOS scenarios: Understand how you would test IOS/IOS-XR, EOS, Junos or SONiC-based environments.
- Practice Python for testing: Be ready to write scripts for log parsing, configuration validation, test execution and result analysis.
- Learn traffic testing: Understand traffic generation, packet loss, throughput, latency, scalability and failure scenarios.
- Practice fault isolation: Prepare examples where you reproduced a hardware/software issue and narrowed down its root cause.
- Study SONiC: Know its purpose, architecture and why open networking is important in modern data centers.
- Prepare test strategy: Be able to explain how you would design a test plan for a new network feature or software release.
- Know automation beyond UI: Focus on system-level automation, CLI/API interactions, infrastructure automation and regression prevention.
📄 Resume Tips for This Role
Customize your resume around network/system testing rather than generic QA keywords. Highlight specific network protocols, NOS platforms, traffic generators, testbeds and troubleshooting activities you have handled. Quantify automation achievements such as number of automated scenarios, regression-time reduction, coverage improvement or release-validation improvements.
If you have Python, Ansible, SONiC, Docker or Linux experience, place these prominently in the technical-skills section. Add 2–3 project bullets demonstrating actual network fault reproduction, automation or release qualification, rather than simply listing technologies.
📩 How to Apply
👉 Application Link: Click Here
Interested candidates should apply through the official Nexthop AI careers channel and search for the Test Engineer – 4510 / Engr POC/Test India – Bengaluru opening. Nexthop AI also provides a job-inquiry contact through its official website.
🚀 Final Thoughts
This is a specialized network and systems testing opportunity, not a conventional web-application QA role. Candidates with strong hands-on networking, troubleshooting, test automation and infrastructure-testing experience should tailor their preparation and resume accordingly. If your background combines networking + Python automation + system testing + debugging, make those areas highly visible in your application.
