Senior Test Engineer - Turbomachinery & Energy Systems

Job Description

Job Description

Senior Test Engineer - Build and Own Test for Next-Generation Energy Hardware

Hawthorne, California | On-site

Opportunity Summary

Join a well-funded seed-stage energy hardware company developing a new class of power conversion systems for large-scale energy applications. The team is moving quickly from engineering and hardware development into active testing, creating an opportunity to have a direct impact on how the technology is validated, developed, and ultimately brought into production. As Senior Test Engineer, you will build the company's test capability from the ground up. You will design test stands, establish test procedures and data systems, help commission a dedicated test facility, and work directly with hardware throughout assembly and test campaigns. This is a high-ownership role for an engineer who wants to operate beyond a narrow test function and take responsibility for the infrastructure, systems, and processes required to validate complex hardware in the real world.

About Us

We are a well-funded, seed-stage energy hardware company developing advanced power conversion technology for next-generation energy systems. The team combines deep turbomachinery, mechanical, fluids, controls, and testing experience and is moving quickly through hardware development and validation. Based in Hawthorne, the company operates with a small, highly technical team where engineers work closely together and have significant influence over both the product and how the company develops.

Job Duties

• Own the development of test capabilities for complex mechanical and energy hardware
• Lead the build-out and commissioning of a dedicated test facility, including layout, utilities, safety systems, and supporting infrastructure
• Design and build test stands, fixtures, rigs, and supporting hardware for prototype and production testing
• Develop test procedures, operating methodologies, and repeatable processes for safely executing hardware tests
• Define instrumentation strategies and establish systems for acquiring, recording, organizing, and managing test data
• Work hands-on with hardware during assembly, plumbing, wiring, integration, commissioning, and troubleshooting
• Execute test campaigns and coordinate the people, hardware, instrumentation, and facility resources required to keep testing moving
• Reduce and analyze test data to identify performance, issues, and actionable engineering insights
• Manage test hardware logistics including instrumentation, fixtures, spares, consumables, and replacement components
• Partner closely with mechanical, fluids, electrical, controls, and software engineers to diagnose issues and improve system performance
• Help establish the long-term testing standards, infrastructure, and operating practices of a growing hardware organization

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or higher in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related technical discipline
• Experience executing hardware test campaigns and commissioning complex physical systems
• Experience working with rotating equipment, high-pressure systems, high-temperature hardware, or similarly demanding test environments
• Strong hands-on mechanical and electrical ability, including assembling, plumbing, instrumenting, and wiring hardware
• Strong understanding of sensors, instrumentation, signal acquisition, and data collection
• Ability to troubleshoot across mechanical, fluid, electrical, controls, and software interfaces
• Comfortable operating in an environment where systems, processes, and infrastructure are still being built
• Strong communication skills and the ability to work closely with engineers across multiple disciplines
• Resourceful approach to solving problems and keeping hardware development moving

Preferred Experience

• Built or commissioned a test facility, laboratory, test cell, or major test stand from the ground up
• Experience with high-pressure, high-temperature, cryogenic, combustion, natural gas, or rotating machinery systems
• Background developing test safety procedures, hazard analyses, or safety frameworks for high-energy systems
• Experience with DAQ and test software such as LabVIEW, Python, cRIO, or similar platforms
• Experience developing scalable approaches to test-data storage, organization, and analysis
• Ability to read and work from P&IDs when assembling and commissioning fluid systems
• Burner management, combustion rig, or combustion testing experience
• Instrumentation experience specific to rotating machinery
• Previous experience at an early-stage hardware or engineering startup

Why Join Us

• Take meaningful ownership of a critical engineering function at an early-stage company
• Build the company's testing architecture, infrastructure, and processes rather than inheriting an established system
• Work directly with the founding team and a small group of highly experienced engineers
• Stay close to the hardware through design, assembly, commissioning, testing, and troubleshooting
• Have significant autonomy and the ability to directly influence technical decisions and company direction
• Join at a stage where individual engineers can have an outsized impact on both the product and organization
• Work fully on-site in Hawthorne alongside the engineering team and hardware
• Meaningful equity ownership
• Company-wide medical, dental, and vision insurance

Compensation Details

$160,000 - $210,000