Aerospace Structures Lab Technician – Fabrication & Testing

LEAP; Broomfield (CO); Hybrid; USD 26,000 - 96,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity program

Retirement plan

Professional development stipend

Flexible time off

Hybrid work model

Health benefits

Disability insurance

Job summary

LEAP in Colorado is seeking a Structures Lab Technician to build, test, and validate structural hardware for flight. You’ll work hands-on in the lab and shop, characterizing materials, forming metal, fabricating GSE, and running structural tests to generate strain and load data for flight readiness.

You will read engineering drawings, set up test rigs, install strain gauges, and document data with traceability.

Qualifications

• Hands-on experience with metal forming, fabrication, or machining (sheet metal, tube, or structural components).
• Experience with mechanical or structural test setups — load frames, strain gauges, load cells, or data acquisition systems.
• Comfort reading engineering drawings and following documented test or build procedures.
• Organized, detail-oriented approach to data collection, documentation, and traceability.
• Strong communication skills to collaborate with test and design engineers.

Responsibilities

• Perform material characterization testing (tensile, compression, hardness) on raw stock and test coupons.
• Set up and execute structural tests on development and flight hardware, including load frames, fixtures, and test stands.
• Fabricate Ground Support Equipment (GSE) — jigs, fixtures, and tooling used across test and production.
• Build and assemble development and flight prototype structures and components.
• Perform metal forming operations to produce structural parts.
• Support production builds by troubleshooting fit, tolerance, and process issues on the shop floor.
• Install strain gauges and load cells, and collect and reduce strain and load data during testing.
• Test reports and material characterization data packages; ensure traceability.
• Fabricated development and flight prototype hardware ready for integration.

Skills

Metal forming

Fabrication

Machining

Test setups

Strain gauge installation

Data acquisition systems

Engineering drawings

Documentation

Team collaboration

Tools

Load frames

Strain gauges

Load cells

Data acquisition

Machining equipment

Job description

LEAP in Colorado is seeking a Structures Lab Technician to build, test, and validate structural hardware for flight. You’ll work hands-on in the lab and shop, characterizing materials, forming metal, fabricating GSE, and running structural tests to generate strain and load data for flight readiness.

You will read engineering drawings, set up test rigs, install strain gauges, and document data with traceability.