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The Exploration Company is building spacecraft for humanity and seeks a Valve Test Engineer II to lead cryogenic valve testing for their high-thrust engine. You will be the primary engineer responsible for defining, planning, executing, and closing valve development test campaigns.
Key responsibilities include:
- Own valve component-level development test execution for the Storm engine
- Translate engineering questions and requirements into test plans, matrices, procedures, and success criteria
- Define test sequencing, configurations, instrumentation, data needs, and readiness criteria
- Coordinate hardware, test bench, facility, calibration, safety, and operational preparation
- Lead safety analysis and test readiness reviews and drive campaign execution through completion
- Execute and oversee functional, pressure, flow, transient, environmental, endurance, and campaign-specific tests
- Analyze test data, assess anomalies, and distinguish hardware behavior from test-system effects
- Produce clear test reports with conclusions, limitations, recommendations, and requirement traceability
- Drive root-cause investigations and use test evidence to guide design iterations and follow-on testing
- Act as the valve-test focal point across design, analysis, manufacturing, quality, systems, and integration teams
The role operates in a fast-paced, agile environment where you will take ownership of getting hardware ready for testing. You will work hands-on with hardware and test benches, data acquisition systems, and collaborate effectively across multidisciplinary engineering teams. The company values rigor, attention to detail, transparency, and rapid decision-making while maintaining safety and systems thinking.
QUALIFICATIONS:
- Degree in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, propulsion, or closely related discipline
- 3-4 years of experience planning and executing hardware development or qualification tests, ideally involving valves, fluid components, propulsion hardware, or pressure-bearing components
- Strong hands-on experience with functional, pressure, flow, transient, leak, environmental, endurance, or burst testing of cryogenic components
- Practical knowledge of test planning, instrumentation, data acquisition, test execution, and engineering data analysis
- Ability to turn requirements and engineering questions into measurable test objectives, procedures, and acceptance criteria
- Comfortable working hands-on with hardware, test benches, and data acquisition systems; ability to investigate anomalies and make evidence-based decisions
- Strong technical writing, communication, safety, risk-management, and configuration-control skills
- Experience in space hardware, propulsion, safety-critical, or regulated environments is advantageous
- Fluency in English (written and verbal)
- Passion for space exploration and motivation to see propulsion hardware move from drawings to tested engines
