Field Test Engineer

Albacore Inc.; Philadelphia, Northern (Philadelphia County, KY); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Albacore Inc. seeks a Field Test Engineer to own test planning and execution for a subsea UUV platform. You will conduct in-water testing, perform field operations with offshore customers, and drive maintenance, troubleshooting, and upgrades in austere conditions.

You will train customer operators, develop test plans, and provide critical feedback to Engineering on procedures, UX, and documentation while traveling to client sites as needed.

Qualifications

• 4+ years hands-on with a technical team through integration, test and field verification of a complex electromechanical system.
• Go-to expert on a technical platform end-to-end.
• Strong problem-solver across hardware, software, and networking boundaries.
• Curious to learn new technical systems autonomously.
• Highly organized and methodical under pressure.
• Willing to be hands-on in the field and in the water.
• Able to lift and maneuver test equipment up to 50 lbs.
• Travel 25-50% as needed.

Responsibilities

• Prepare for field exercises by sourcing and preparing UUV test and support equipment.
• Write and execute day-to-day test operations plans and capture detailed reports.
• Conduct daily UUV inspections and systems checks before and after operations.
• Coordinate regular UUV launch and recovery operations; in-water work multiple days weekly.
• Be the vehicle expert in the field; perform maintenance, troubleshooting and upgrades.
• Travel to client sites to train customer operators on vehicle functionality and mission planning.
• Provide feedback to Engineering on UX/UI, SOPs, and user documentation.

Skills

Field testing

UUV operations

Electro-mechanical systems

Troubleshooting

Cross-functional teamwork

Test planning

Technical field work

Education

Engineering degree or comparable experience

Tools

Mechanical drawings

Wiring diagrams

Work instructions

Equipment schematics

Job description

About the Team

Albacore is bringing our passion to innovation in the subsea domain, and we are looking to add a Field Test Engineer to join the Ghostfin Field Operations team.The Field Test Engineer will own the discipline of test planning and execution including writing and documenting test plans for every deployment, running in-water testing, and facilitating forward deployed activities with overseas customers. This is a hands-on, high-ownership role where you will leverage your technical expertise to test and operate this modern subsea platform in the most challenging and dynamic conditions.

What you'll do

• Prepare for field exercises by identifying, sourcing and preparing UUV test and support equipment
• Write and execute day to day test operations plans and capture detailed daily operations and test reports
• Conduct daily UUV inspections and systems checks for the Ghostfin both before and after operations
• Coordinate regular UUV launch and recovery operations-you'll be in the water most weekdays as we rapidly mature the platform
• Become the vehicle subject matter expert in the field, able to perform maintenance, troubleshooting, repair, and upgrades in austere conditions
• Travel to client sites to train customer operators on vehicle functionality, deployment, retrieval, and mission planning capabilities
• Bring an operator's perspective to augment development, bringing constructive feedback to Engineering for UX/UI considerations, Standard Operating Procedures, and user documentation

Qualifications

• 4+ years working hands-on with a technical team through the full arc of integration, test, and field verification of a complex electromechanical system
• Comfortable becoming the go-to expert on a technical platform end-to-end
• Sharp, practical problem-solver who is at ease working across hardware, software, and networking boundaries, who can take an ambiguous, half-defined issue and work it methodically to a real answer
• Genuinely curious individual who picks up new technical systems and concepts on their own rather than waiting to be taught
• Highly organized and methodical, especially under pressure - someone who gets more deliberate, not reactive, when things get stressful
• Willing to be hands-on and in the field, not just planning from a desk
• Comfortable and confident working on the water - driving a boat, towing a trailer, handling dock lines, and generally at ease around marine equipment
• Ability to lift and maneuver test equipment and vehicle components up to 50 lbs
• Travel 25-50% as needed

Preferred Qualifications

• Engineering Degree or comparable experience preferred
• Comfortable reading and working from technical documentation including mechanical drawings, wiring diagrams, work instructions or equipment schematics
• Experience running functional checkouts or acceptance tests and knowing when to fix an issue on the spot versus flag it up the chain
• General Boating License