Environmental Test Lab Lead for Space Hardware

Antares; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Antares seeks a hands-on Environmental Lab Manager to build and operate the environmental test capabilities for the R1 reactor and related hardware. You will translate program needs into equipment requirements, bring new capabilities online, and establish a practical path from test requests to reliable results in collaboration with Facilities, test teams, design engineering, and Quality.

You will own lab capacity planning, vendor evaluations, procedures, and hands-on test execution, while

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or 7+ years of equivalent practical experience.
• Experience owning environmental test equipment or lab operations.
• Experience translating hardware/test requirements into equipment specifications.
• Ability to assess equipment limits and facility needs and explain tradeoffs.
• Experience developing test procedures and reviewing results.
• Ability to convert requests into clear test objectives and execution plans.
• Demonstrated ownership across engineering, facilities, vendors and technicians, with safety and quality focus.

Responsibilities

• Build the environmental lab capability roadmap with test and design teams, identifying near-term needs and future capacity.
• Size and specify environmental chambers and shakers based on hardware specs and test profiles.
• Evaluate chamber volume, temperature/humidity ranges, ramp rates, and heat removal; assess shaker mass, force, and control requirements.
• Coordinate power, cooling water, ventilation, compressed air, floor loading, vibration isolation, and layout with Facilities.
• Own vendor evaluations and equipment acceptance; coordinate procurement, installation, and verification of test capability.
• Work with design engineering, test teams, and Quality to identify test specs and tailor profiles for environments; document acceptance criteria.
• Establish procedures for test readiness, checks, data review, and reporting; keep docs proportional to test risk.
• Coordinate and support hands-on test execution, including fixtures, instrumentation, data acquisition, and troubleshooting.
• Own equipment maintenance, calibration, operator training, configuration records, and lab safety with Facilities, EHS, and Quality.
• Track lab capacity and upcoming demand; recommend investments and external test support as needed.
• As demand grows, hire, train, and manage technicians; build a capable lab operations team.

Skills

Environmental test equipment

Lab operations

Test procedures

Data acquisition

Vendor evaluation

Safety & quality

Test planning

Cross-functional ownership

Education

Bachelor’s degree in mechanical, electrical, aerospace, or a related engineering field

Job description

Antares seeks a hands-on Environmental Lab Manager to build and operate the environmental test capabilities for the R1 reactor and related hardware. You will translate program needs into equipment requirements, bring new capabilities online, and establish a practical path from test requests to reliable results in collaboration with Facilities, test teams, design engineering, and Quality.

You will own lab capacity planning, vendor evaluations, procedures, and hands-on test execution, while