Test Engineer

Do you learn best by taking things apart—or pushing them until they fail? Are you the engineer who can’t help but ask why something works… and how it could work better? If so, you’ll feel right at home at Stress Engineering Services, Inc. (SES).

Founded in 1972, SES is a premier provider of engineered solutions and professional consulting services across an extraordinary range of engineering disciplines. Our clients span medical, consumer, pharmaceutical, energy, and manufacturing industries throughout the U.S. and internationally—so the problems we solve (and the tests we run) are always changing. We’re known for deep technical expertise and proven performance in instrumentation and testing, failure analysis, reliability and predictive engineering, materials science, solid mechanics and structural design, heat transfer, fluid mechanics, floating systems, and forensics.

Our reputation speaks for itself: over 80% of our work comes from repeat clients and referrals.

As a Test Engineer at SES, you’ll turn complex questions into meaningful data. This role blends mechanical engineering fundamentals with hands‑on testing and system operation in a dynamic, industrial laboratory environment. You’ll plan and execute custom tests, design fixtures and methods, instrument hardware, collect high‑quality data, and transform results into clear, actionable insights.

Projects span medical devices, consumer products, primary and tertiary packaging, mechanical and electrical systems, industrial processes, and engineering materials. The common thread: understanding how a system is supposed to perform—and proving whether it actually does.

• Developing custom and specialized test plans, fixtures, and test methods
• Executing tests safely and efficiently while monitoring live data
• Collecting, analyzing, and documenting high‑quality test data
• Interpreting results and producing clear, concise technical reports

Successful Test Engineers at Stress are adaptable problem solvers who thrive in both independent and collaborative environments. You’re hands‑on, mechanically curious, and comfortable working with electro‑mechanical systems, instrumentation, and multiple sensor types. You can safely navigate a heavy industrial lab setting, juggle competing priorities, and keep projects moving forward—even when tests don’t go as planned.

Strong communication skills are essential. You’ll routinely interact with teammates and clients, translating technical details into clear verbal explanations and well‑written test methods and reports. Experience in regulated industries (medical device, pharmaceutical, aerospace, etc.) is a plus. Depending on your experience, you may also take the lead on managing projects, interfacing directly with clients, and guiding the work of other engineers and technicians.

• We Over Me – We put the mission, our clients, and our team ahead of individual agendas.
• Unyielding Pursuit of Excellence – Excellence is the standard. We deliver the right solution, on time, every time.
• Own It – We take personal and collective accountability to earn trust and deliver results.

No two days are the same—and that’s exactly what makes this role rewarding. Your morning might start with a technical discussion alongside engineers, technicians, and clients, refining a test concept or identifying instrumentation and risk considerations. You may review drawings, finalize a test plan, or troubleshoot an unexpected challenge that requires creative thinking and mechanical intuition.

Before long, you’re in the lab or test yard—instrumenting hardware, coordinating with technicians, monitoring live data, and adapting on the fly. Sometimes that means pushing systems to their limits… breaking them, or even blowing them up (intentionally) to uncover answers that simply can’t be found any other way. Throughout the day, you balance safety, schedule, and performance while managing risk in real time.

By day’s end, you can see tangible progress: data collected, questions answered, and another complex test successfully executed. It’s hands‑on, fast‑paced, occasionally…