Quality Assurance Technician 1

Come join our passionate team! Barracuda is a leading cybersecurity company providing complete protection against complex threats. Our platform protects email, data, applications, and networks with innovative solutions, and a managed XDR service, to strengthen cyber resilience. Hundreds of thousands of IT professionals and managed service providers worldwide trust us to protect and support them with solutions that are easy to buy, deploy, and use. 

We know a diverse workforce adds to our collective value and strength as an organization.  Barracuda Networks is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to equal employment opportunity and equitable compensation regardless of race, gender, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, or disability. 

Envision Yourself at Barracuda

We are looking for a Quality Assurance Technician who is organized, curious and detail-oriented to join our Hardware Applied System’s Engineering team. In this role, you will support hardware lifecycle activities across product development, manufacturing readiness, regulatory coordination, sustaining engineering and end-of-life planning. This is a junior-level position ideal for someone early in their career who is eager to learn how enterprise security appliances are built, certified, supported and maintained throughout their lifecycle.

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 willingness to learn are important.

This is a full-time position, but we understand that early-career candidates may be balancing school or technical training. Where possible, we are open to discussing schedule flexibility that supports academic commitments while meeting the needs of the role. 

What You’ll Be Working On

• 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 rack and cable new appliances and engineering samples, install CPUs, RAM, SSD/NVMe, NICs, RAID adapters and other components.
• 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 creating test plan and run smoke tests after hardware changes.
• Assist with Boot/reboot, power-cycle testing, firmware upgrade/downgrade validation, NIC/port detection, connectivity tests and RAID/storage/NVMe validation.
• Support basic CPU, memory, storage checks with appliance-image installation and verification.
• Support ASE quality testing for initiative Assist with documentation for hardware builds, compliance records, product specifications, engineering change requests and lifecycle milestones.
• Work with cross-functional teams including engineering, product management, logistics, procurement, manufacturing partners and 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 when possible 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.

What You Bring to the Role

• Even if your experience doesn't align perfectly with every qualification, we encourage you to apply. We'd love to hear how you can contribute to our team.
• 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.

What You’ll Get from Us

A team where you can voice your opinion, make an impact, and where you and your experience are valued. Internal mobility – there are opportunities for cross training and the ability to attain your next career step within Barracuda.  

• Equity, in the form of non-qualifying options
• High-quality health benefits
• Retirement Plan with employer match
• Career-growth opportunities
• Flexible Time Off and Paid Time Off benefits
• Volunteer opportunities 

Req ID: 27-0506

#LI-ONSITE