Senior Mechanical Engineering Technician

As a Senior Mechanical Engineering Technician at Firestorm, you will be the most capable set of hands on the floor — the person who builds the first article, figures out why it does not fit, fixes it, and then writes down how it should be done next time. You will own complete aircraft and test article builds from kit to functional hardware, own the setup and execution of mechanical test campaigns, and lead aircraft preparation and turnaround at field and flight test events.

This role carries real ownership. You will own the quality of one or more process areas — wire harness fabrication, composite layup and repair, or test lab tooling and calibration — and you will be the standard others are measured against. You will red-line drawings and work instructions during build and drive those corrections back into engineering, so that what gets released is actually buildable.

You will mentor junior technicians and check their work. If you have spent your career building hardware that has to work the first time, and you want that work to matter, this is the seat.

• - Own complete aircraft and major assembly builds, from kitting through final integration and functional check.
• - Serve as the shop’s authority on one or more process areas — wire harness fabrication, composite layup and repair, or bonded and fastened structural assembly — and own the quality of that area’s output.
• - Fabricate complex wire harnesses and verify pin-out, continuity, and workmanship before installation.
• - Install and rig mechanisms: control surfaces, servo linkages, hinges, and travel and throw setting.
• - Perform propulsion and fuel system installation, including engine mounting, plumbing, leak checks, and propeller balancing.
• - Resolve build issues in real time — fit-up problems, interference, missing or incorrect hardware — and exercise judgment on what can be worked and what must be escalated.
• - Red-line drawings and work instructions during build and drive corrections back into engineering through the ECR process.
• - Author and improve work instructions so that builds are repeatable by junior technicians.
• - Identify non-conformances, support MRB disposition, and execute rework to the approved disposition.
• - Support first-article inspection and production readiness as platforms transition from prototype to rate build.

• - Own test setup end to end: fixture fabrication and adaptation, test article installation, instrumentation, and data acquisition configuration.
• - Install and verify strain gauges, load cells, accelerometers, thermocouples, and displacement transducers; confirm calibration and channel health before test.
• - Configure and operate data acquisition systems — channel setup, sample rates, tare, and triggering — and deliver clean, labeled data to engineering.
• - Execute static and proof load, drop, vibration and shock, thermal and environmental, and fatigue test campaigns to written procedure.
• - Troubleshoot test setup problems independently and keep a campaign moving without waiting for an engineer at every step.
• - Maintain anomaly logs, photo and video records, and test documentation sufficient to defend a result.
• - Own lab infrastructure: fixture inventory, test stand maintenance, gage and equipment calibration schedule, and safe test operations including hazard review, stored-energy control, and rigging and lifting.

• - Lead aircraft preparation and turnaround at flight and field test events, acting as crew lead for build and maintenance activity on site.
• - Own field loadout — tooling, spares, consumables, and GSE — and the readiness of everything that leaves the building.
• - Set up and maintain launch and recovery equipment,…