Sr. Test Engineer

Job Description

The Senior Test Engineer defines and drives the validation strategy for complex programs, ensuring product requirements are translated into comprehensive, effective test plans. This role acts as a hands-on technical leader—working alongside the team in the lab while establishing the methods, frameworks, and rigor that guide validation across the organization. The Senior Test Engineer ensures disciplined, data-driven problem solving by challenging assumptions, validating hypotheses, and driving a deep understanding of product performance and failure modes.

This role requires a strong engineering mindset, with emphasis on designing validation approaches, anticipating failure modes, and leading data-driven decision making—not solely executing predefined test procedures.

Travel includes routine trips between Plainville, CT (main office) and Boxborough, MA (10%) and regional visits to third-party certification labs (5%), for a total travel expectation below 15%.

Essential Functions:

• Own the development and structure of Design Verification Plans & Reports (DVP&R) across complex programs, including defining requirements translation methods, test strategies, and validation frameworks.
• Lead cross-functional alignment of validation activities across mechanical, electrical, firmware, and quality teams.
• Define and develop test methodologies, approaches, and frameworks, while actively applying them through hands-on testing and validation activities.
• Establish validation strategies that align product requirements, DFMEA risk assessment, and comprehensive test coverage.
• Drive effective DFMEA participation by challenging assumptions, ensuring robust failure mode identification, and linking risks to validation plans.
• Lead cross-functional root cause investigations by defining problem-solving approaches, ensuring clear hypotheses are formed, and validating conclusions through data.
• Proactively influence product design by anticipating failure modes, challenging assumptions, and ensuring robustness prior to validation.
• Perform hands-on testing and validation alongside the team, particularly on complex or high-risk programs, to guide execution and ensure technical rigor.
• Apply and develop test methods across both electrical and mechanical domains, including environmental and reliability methods such as thermal cycling, vibration, shock, pressure, and durability/life testing.
• Serve as technical lead for external validation activities by defining test approaches, ensuring readiness, and supporting execution in coordination with quality and compliance teams.
• Continuously improve test capability by developing tools, methods, and best practices that enhance efficiency, repeatability, and overall validation rigor.

Critical Success Factors:

• Validation Strategy & System-Level Ownership
  - Defines and drives validation strategies that align requirements, risk, and test coverage, ensuring rigorous upfront validation that reduces late-stage rework and accelerates product development.
• Critical Thinking & Problem-Solving Leadership
  - Establishes disciplined, hypothesis-driven problem solving, ensuring conclusions are based on data, assumptions are challenged, and root causes are fully understood before action.

Education & Experience

Required:

• Associate's or Bachelor's degree in Engineering – Electrical, Mechanical, or Mechatronics. (Equivalent hands-on experience commensurate with a degree is also acceptable).

• 7+ years of experience in testing and validation of electro-mechanical or electronics-based products across multiple programs, including ownership of DVP&R and development of validation strategies from requirements through execution.

• Demonstrated experience defining test methodologies and improving validation processes, with strong hands-on application of environmental and reliability testing (e.g., thermal cycling, vibration, shock, pressure, durability/life) to uncover failure modes and validate product robustness.

• Proven ability to lead structured, cross-functional root cause investigations using tools such as FMEA, DOE, RCCA, FTA, or similar structured methods with a strong emphasis on hypothesis-driven, data-based decision making.

• Advanced experience with lab instrumentation and validation systems, including electronic test equipment and environmental test setups (thermal chambers, vibration systems, durability/life rigs).

• Experience with test automation, data acquisition, or analysis tools (LabVIEW, Python, or similar) preferred.

• Experience supporting validation in regulated environments (e.g., UL, CE, CSA, NSF) and working in coordination with quality and compliance teams is preferred.