Sr. Test Engineer (Raptor Avionics)

$125,000 - $175,000/Yr

SpaceX - Hawthorne, CA

Full-time - Mid Level

Hawthorne, CA

Transportation Equipment Manufacturing

About the position

The Sr. Test Engineer (Raptor Avionics) at SpaceX is responsible for ensuring the highest standards of quality for avionics hardware used in advanced rocket engines. This role involves defining test requirements, designing test processes, and performing data analysis to enhance product reliability. The engineer will collaborate with various teams across SpaceX to drive continuous improvement and ensure that all hardware meets stringent performance criteria.

Responsibilities

• Develop test solutions for in-house developed avionics hardware products which will fly to space
• Own the full development cycle of multiple test systems from requirements through to deployment
• Develop modular and reusable automated test architectures which can efficiently be deployed across multiple product lines
• Write automation software in Python to interact with units under test, test equipment, instrumentation, and production documentation systems
• Work closely with and consistently provide feedback to electrical design engineers, firmware engineers, manufacturing engineers, and test lab teams to drive design/infrastructure improvements to increase product reliability/yield
• Root-cause test failures to ensure issues are understood and develop/implement mitigations as part of a process of continuous improvement
• Provide technical guidance and mentorship to junior engineers and technicians

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, computer science, or physics
• 5+ years of professional programming experience
• 5+ years of professional experience with hardware development or electronics test engineering

Nice-to-haves

• Master's degree in an engineering discipline
• Experience with data analytics
• Experience developing functional test plans from product requirements and analysis of schematics
• Experience developing object-oriented software in Python
• Experience working with firmware engineers to develop self-test functionality for embedded systems
• Understanding of electrical schematics and electronics manufacturing to analyze/improve test coverage
• Experience automating test equipment and measurement techniques to verify/validate product requirements
• Understanding of metrology, sources of measurement error, and uncertainty analysis
• Exposure to SMT lines and electronics manufacturing
• Familiarity with National Instruments platforms including DAQmx, PXI, and cRIO
• Understanding of instrumentation, interfaces, and sensors including DMMs, DAQ, power supplies, oscilloscopes, DIO, GPIB, USB, Serial-422, VISA, UDP, GigE, SPI, switch technologies/topologies, accelerometers, RTDs, thermocouples, and 4-20mA sensors
• Understanding and experience in environmental testing such as vibration, shock, thermal, burn-in, and TVAC

Benefits

• Comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage
• 401(k) retirement plan
• Short and long-term disability insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid parental leave
• Various discounts and perks
• 3 weeks of paid vacation
• 10 or more paid holidays per year
• 5 days of sick leave per year
• Long-term incentives in the form of company stock, stock options, or long-term cash awards
• Potential discretionary bonuses
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan allowing purchase of additional stock at a discount