Senior Test Engineer

Who you are

• Procedures — Author, revise and release the bring-up (Level 600) and system validation (Level 700) procedures through engineering change control; set acceptance limits
• Final qualification — Own Level 800 qualification and release sign-off; direct technician support and confirm printers arrive from system validation complete
• Test equipment — Specify, build and validate test stations, fixtures and instrumentation; own gauge capability and calibration requirements
• Internal fleet — Own incidents on internal printers to closure (ITRS, Splunk, Datadog); support software releases and user acceptance testing
• Root cause — Lead root cause and permanent corrective action for test failures and recurring incidents with Hardware, Software, suppliers and Quality
• Data and automation — Track yield, cycle time and downtime; write Shell/Python tooling to automate data capture, monitoring and repetitive steps
• People and quality — Train Test Technicians on procedures, mentor junior engineers, and keep records to AS9100 standards
• Bachelor’s in Electrical, Mechanical, Mechatronics or related engineering, or equivalent experience
• 3–5 years in test, bring-up or manufacturing engineering on complex capital equipment (semiconductor, laser, medical, aerospace or automation)
• Has authored and released revision-controlled test procedures and led root cause to a verified fix
• Hands-on across electrical (schematics, DMM, scope, megger), gas and fluid systems (P&IDs, leak-down), precision motion and optics
• Controls and computing: firmware, PLC/controller interfaces, IP/Modbus networking, Linux/Windows, Shell and Python
• Clear communicator who makes decisions from data and never skips a step under schedule pressure
• Experience taking a new product from prototype into production test (new product introduction)
• Laser systems or metal additive manufacturing experience
• Tracking equipment reliability and uptime — mean time between failures (MTBF) and mean time to repair (MTTR)
• Statistical process control (SPC) to monitor test results, and measurement system analysis (MSA) to prove test equipment is accurate and repeatable
• Structured root cause methods such as 8D (eight-step problem solving) and 5-Why
• Working in an aerospace or ISO quality system (AS9100 or ISO 9001)
• Working Conditions:
• Export control: must be ITAR-compliant (U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident)
• Laser safety, LOTO, compressed gas and metal powder training provided and must be maintained
• Onsite at Fremont and Livermore; exposure to high voltage, Class 4 lasers, inert gases, metal powders and noise; PPE as posted
• Standing, ladders and occasional confined spaces; lift up to 50 lbs; occasional off-shift work for machine-down events

What the job involves

• As a Senior Test Engineer, you own how Velo3D proves its metal additive manufacturing printers are ready to ship and keeps them running. Every printer passes through three stages of test:
• Subsystem bring-up (Level 600) — power up and verify each subsystem in turn: electrical and safety interlocks, argon gas and compressed air, cooling, motion, powder handling, laser optics, controls and software
• System validation (Level 700) — confirm the subsystems work together and the printer meets its acceptance criteria
• Final qualification (Level 800) — the last qualification checks and sign-off before a printer is released
• You own the procedures for bring-up and validation, sign off final qualification, and keep our internal printers qualified and available. Test Technicians execute your procedures; you are their technical escalation point
• Success looks like higher first-pass yield, shorter bring-up cycle time, failures caught in test rather than in the field, and recurring incidents closed with permanent fixes

Benefits

• Healthcare coverage
• Life insurance
• Disability insurance
• 401(k) with employer contributions
• Time off
• Monthly all-hands meetings
• Team member appreciation awards