Job Description
Role Overview
We need three hands-on, mechanically oriented Test Engineers who thrives in our test lab. This role balances:
- Logistics layer - coordinating with design counterparts, collecting samples, creating JIRA tickets for technicians, and managing test sample logistics.
- Hands-on test engineering - designing, building, and iterating on test setups.
- Ownership mindset - treating each setup as if it were their own business, balancing speed, safety, and standardization in a fast-paced environment.
Role Overview
We need a hands-on, mechanically oriented Test Engineer who thrives in the lab. This role balances:
- Logistics layer - coordinating with design counterparts, collecting samples, creating JIRA tickets for technicians, and managing test sample logistics.
- Hands-on test engineering - designing, building, and iterating on test setups.
- Ownership mindset - treating each setup as if it were their own business, balancing speed, safety, and standardization in a fast-paced environment.
Key Responsibilities & Skills
1. Design & Build of Test Fixtures
- Architect, model, and assemble frames (e.g. 80/20, steel, aluminum, composites) to house power systems, control electronics, and devices under test.
- Design and build custom control boxes (e.g. microcontroller / relay / switching boards) to actuate and monitor test logic (for example, cycling chargeport latches).
- Create harnessing from control box to devices (wiring, connectors, cable management).
- Select and integrate components: power supplies, pumps, sensors, relays, data acquisition modules.
- Rapid CAD design (SolidWorks or equivalent) of parts, assemblies, and fixtures.
- Develop control scripts (Python preferred) for device actuation, chamber/chiller coordination, power cycling, data logging, error handling, interlock logic.
- Decompose build and inspection tasks into JIRA (or equivalent) tickets, assign to technicians, and supervise execution and QA.
2. Mechanical Systems & Thermal / Structural Design
- Choose pumps, heat exchangers, motors, actuators (servo, stepper, etc.) appropriate for the thermal, flow, mechanical load of the DUT.
- Design structural supports, fixtures, mounting surfaces, force-transmitting links, and vibration isolation, considering stiffness, thermal expansion, alignment tolerances, and safety margins.
- Apply GD&T (Geometric Dimensioning & Tolerancing) to ensure fixture elements match tolerances and reduce mismatch / rework.
- Fabricate custom parts (machining, cutting, bending, welding) or coordinate with external machine shops when needed.
- Understand mechanical stresses, thermal expansion, material selection (e.g. aluminum vs. steel, coefficient of expansion) to preserve alignment under extreme conditions.
- Recommend and integrate mechanical stress/load elements (e.g. clamping, thermal cycling effects, flexures) for realistic loading of bus bars, junction boxes, chargeports.
3. Electrical, Instrumentation & Signal Integrity
- Interpret datasheets and performance specs of HV components (contactors, shunts, relays, power converters).
- Size wiring harnesses (gauge, insulation, derating), design noise mitigation (shielding, twisted pairs, grounding), and design simple circuits (e.g. resistor dummy loads, balancing circuits) to support test logic.
- Integrate measurement hardware: NI DAQ systems, thermocouples, RTDs, pressure sensors, accelerometers, current & voltage sensors.
- Incorporate HV safety features: interlocks, watchdogs, fault detection, safe sequencing, insulation monitoring, and emergency shutdown paths.
- Ensure signal timing, synchronization, sample rate, and data integrity across instrumentation channels.
4. Equipment & Test Facility Integration
- Work with environmental chambers: plan safe ramp-down sequences (e.g. humidity first), account for thermal soak and enclosure constraints.
- Interface with chillers / cooling systems to integrate temperature setpoints into test profiles and manage coolant circulation.
- Use advanced / bi-directional power supplies (grid simulators, programmable sources) with SCPI, CAN, GPIB, Ethernet, LXI or RS-232 protocols.
- Manage rack systems: power supplies, controllers, cabling, cooling, harness routing, cable length constraints.
- Configure and validate test stands to maintain safety clearance, mechanical access, serviceability, and reliability over long test durations.
5. Reliability & Environmental Testing Expertise
- Understand and design for reliability test methods common in EV and power component space:
- PTCE (Powered Thermal Cycling Endurance)
- HTOE (High Temperature Operating Endurance)
- HTHE (High Temperature Humidity Endurance)
- IP (Ingress Protection / environmental sealing tests)
- Develop or adapt fixtures and setups for these tests (thermal cycling, humidity, load cycling) and interpret resulting data for degradation / failure modes.
- Use test data and models to accelerate test times (e.g. using real-world load profiles) while maintaining statistical confidence.
- Understand aging, fatigue, electromigration, thermal cycling cracks, insulation breakdown, corrosion or humidity-related degradation patterns as inputs to design feedback.
6. Validation, Calibration & Fixture Quality Assurance
- Validate fixtures: check alignment, clearance, actuation, contact integrity, wiring, and signal continuity.
- Perform fixture checkout and verification prior to production test runs (probe hits, wire verification, interlock tests).
- Maintain calibration schedules for sensors and instrumentation to ensure accuracy over long-term usage.
- Monitor fixture drift, failure modes, and redundancy in critical paths (spare sensors, fallback mechanisms).
- Design with safety in mind: include grounding kits, proper shielding, and ensure human safety in presence of HV.
Target Industries for Candidates
- Automotive (EVs, Tier-1 suppliers in power electronics, HV systems)
- Aerospace/defense (environmental test, reliability)
- Industrial power systems (HV equipment, grid simulation, power distribution)
- Electronics testing labs with fixture design/validation experience
Pre-Screening Questions (with examples of good answers)
- Can you describe a time you designed and built a custom test fixture from scratch?
- Follow-up: How did you choose pumps, power supplies, sensors, and framing?
- Follow-up: How did CAD and scripting factor into your solution?
- Good answer: Candidate explains building a fixture using 80/20 framing, a relay-controlled PSU with Arduino, custom harnessing, and Python scripting for cycling and logging data.
- In an 85°C/85%RH environmental test, what do you ramp down first before opening the chamber?
- Good answer: Humidity first, otherwise condensation risks damaging the samples.
- How would you reduce electrical noise in a setup with HV and LV wiring running together?
- Good answer: Separate HV and LV harnesses, use twisted pairs, shielding, and proper grounding.
- How do you decide what pump, heat exchanger, or motor to use in a thermal or mechanical test setup?
- Good answer: Candidate refers to flow/pressure/heat load calculations, safety margins, and equipment specs matched to test needs.
- Tell us about your experience with instrumentation (DAQs, thermocouples, accelerometers).
- Good answer: Candidate describes specific examples of DAQ integration, sensor calibration, and how they analyzed and communicated results.
Quick Checklist for Recruiters
Must-Have:
- Hands-on, comfortable designing AND building test setups
- Mechanical + electrical fundamentals (framing, pumps, heat exchangers, wiring)
- CAD (SolidWorks preferred)
- Python scripting (or similar)
- HV safety awareness
Preferred:
- Experience with NI DAQs, thermocouples, accelerometers
- GD&T knowledge/certification
- Familiarity with environmental chambers and liquid cooling
- Knowledge of power supply communication protocols (CAN, GPIB, SCPI, etc.)
- Reliability testing knowledge: IP, PTCE, HTOE, HTHE
Mindset:
- Scrappy, ownership-driven, hands-on
- Comfortable balancing speed, safety, and standardization
- Thrives in a fast-paced, dynamic lab environment
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