Sr. Reliability Test Engineer

Job Description

Job Description

Aerospace is at a turning point — costs are rising, supply chains are strained, and old ways of building can't keep up. At Neon Aero, we're breaking that mold. We move fast, think big, and combine start-up agility with aerospace expertise to design, build, and scale aircraft in ways the industry has never seen. Our team leverages automation, AI-driven tools, and a fully connected digital backbone to accelerate innovation and reduce barriers to production.

Here, you won't just take a job — you'll help reinvent how the world flies. If you're ready to solve complex problems, push technology further, and work alongside some of the brightest minds in aerospace, this is your chance to make a real impact.

We are seeking a Senior Reliability Test Engineer to define, build, and execute reliability and validation testing across complex electromechanical systems.

This role sits within the systems development team and is responsible for ensuring that our products meet fundamental performance, durability, and operational requirements through rigorous engineering validation and characterization. You will own reliability test strategy, lab infrastructure, and execution for systems including electromechanical actuators, thermal management systems, and hybrid power platforms.

Your work will expose failure modes early, quantify design risk, and generate the data required to drive confident engineering decisions. While you will not own design directly, your test strategy, observations, and insights will materially influence engineering tradeoffs and system direction.

This is not a certification role. It is engineering-driven validation focused on breaking systems, understanding real-world behavior, and ensuring designs are ready before formal qualification (e.g., DO-160 and related standards). The role operates upstream of certification, but also plays a critical part during certification by providing high-confidence data, validating assumptions, and helping streamline products through the qualification process in close partnership with systems and certification teams.

We are intentionally breaking from traditional aerospace development models. Rather than relying on extended analysis followed by a single certification-bound prototype, we build and test multiple prototypes early to uncover issues quickly and iterate based on real data. This role is central to that approach.

This is the first senior hire in reliability and validation. You will define how this function operates from test philosophy and infrastructure to execution and scaling, establishing the foundation for how the company validates hardware as it grows.

Key Responsibilities Reliability Strategy & Test Development

• Define reliability and validation test strategies for complex electromechanical systems based on system requirements and expected use conditions
• Translate engineering requirements into structured, executable test plans and success criteria
• Develop test methodologies to characterize performance, durability, and environmental robustness
• Design tests to uncover edge cases, failure modes, and system limitations early in development

Test Infrastructure & Lab Development

• Build and scale internal reliability lab capabilities, including test stands, fixtures, instrumentation, and data acquisition systems
• Define lab workflows, safety practices, and repeatable test processes
• Select, procure, and integrate test equipment required for mechanical, electrical, and environmental testing
• Establish calibration, data integrity, and test traceability practices

Hands-On Test Execution

• Lead execution of reliability and characterization testing on prototype hardware
• Instrument systems and test setups to capture meaningful, high-quality data
• Run mechanical, thermal, electrical, and combined stress tests across relevant operating conditions
• Adapt test approaches dynamically based on observed behavior and emerging risks

External Test Management

• Manage external test vendors (e.g., environmental and specialized test labs)
• Define test scopes, review setups, and ensure alignment with internal objectives
• Evaluate test quality, data validity, and adherence to intended conditions
• Integrate external results into overall validation strategy

Data Analysis & Risk Assessment

• Analyze test data to quantify performance margins, degradation trends, and reliability risks
• Apply statistical methods where appropriate to understand variability and confidence levels
• Communicate clear, actionable insights to engineering teams and leadership
• Provide structured assessments of design readiness and residual risk

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner closely with Systems, Mechanical, and Electrical Engineering teams
• Support failure investigations by providing high-quality test data and observations
• Contribute to pre-certification readiness by validating designs against expected environmental and operational conditions
• Ensure alignment between test strategy and system-level requirements

Required Qualifications

• Minimum of 8 years of experience in reliability engineering, validation testing, or system-level hardware testing
• Experience developing and executing test strategies for complex electromechanical systems
• Hands-on experience building and operating test setups, fixtures, and instrumentation
• Strong understanding of mechanical, electrical, and environmental stress testing methods
• Experience working with external test labs and managing outsourced test campaigns
• Ability to translate requirements into structured test plans and measurable outcomes
• Strong data analysis and problem-solving skills with the ability to interpret complex test results
• Comfortable working hands-on in lab environments with prototype hardware
• Strong communication skills with the ability to convey technical findings clearly

Preferred Experience

• Experience with aerospace, automotive, robotics, or consumer hardware systems
• Familiarity with environmental and reliability standards such as DO-160 or similar frameworks
• Experience with accelerated life testing, fatigue testing, and environmental stress testing
• Background in statistical analysis methods (e.g., Weibull analysis, DOE, JMP, Python, MATLAB)
• Experience testing actuator systems, motor-driven systems, or power electronics
• Experience building new lab capabilities or scaling test infrastructure from early-stage environments

What We Value

• Engineers who use testing to uncover truth not to confirm assumptions
• Deep belief that models are useful, but reality is decisive
• Bias toward action build the test, run it, learn, iterate
• Comfort breaking hardware to understand it
• Strong systems intuition understanding how complex systems behave outside ideal conditions
• Ability to operate in ambiguity and create structure where none exists
• Practical, hands-on mindset capable of building rigs, not just writing plans
• Low ego, high ownership driven by outcomes, not role boundaries

Why This Role Matters

This role defines how we validate our products before they reach certification and production.

Your work will determine whether systems behave as expected under real-world conditions, uncover failure modes early, and provide the data needed to make critical engineering decisions with confidence.

You will help build the reliability function from the ground up and establish the foundation for how we test, learn, and improve across all product lines.

This is the expected compensation range for this role. Final compensation will be based on role scope, experience, skills, internal equity and location. This role may also be eligible for bonus/equity/benefits, if applicable.

$150,000 - $250,000 USD

Neon Aero, Inc is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected status under applicable law.

We believe that diverse perspectives drive innovation, and we welcome candidates from all backgrounds to apply.

All final candidates must successfully complete a background check and drug screening as a condition of employment.