Lead Engineer, Avionics Battery Test

Socket.dev; Long Beach (CA); On-site; USD 151,000 - 227,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity in compensation

Generous PTO

Parental leave

Learning stipend

Job summary

Relativity Space seeks a Lead of Avionics Battery Test Engineering to build and lead the team responsible for high-voltage battery testing across pack and cell levels. You will define the strategy, establish lab infrastructure, safety standards, and hire engineers for rapid, high-quality feedback to design teams.

The role requires hands-on lab expertise and 3+ years leading test engineering teams, with a strong focus on safety and cross-functional collaboration.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering (mechanical, electrical, chemical, aerospace, or related field).
• Extensive experience in battery testing, validation, or energetics with hands-on execution of test programs.
• Strong understanding of battery physics, safety behavior, failure modes, and HV system fundamentals.
• 3+ years leading test engineering teams, including development of engineers' technical and leadership skills.

Responsibilities

• Oversee HV battery bring-up, pack- and cell-level testing.
• Define test strategy, build lab infrastructure, and establish safety standards.
• Mentor engineers and provide rapid, high-quality feedback to design teams.

Skills

Battery testing

HV systems

Lab testing

Test leadership

Instrumentation

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering

Tools

DAQ systems

Test equipment

Chambers

Cyclers

Job description

At Relativity Space, we're building rockets to serve today's needs and tomorrow's breakthroughs. Our Terran R vehicle will deliver customer payloads to orbit, meeting the growing demand for launch capacity. But that's just the start. Achieving commercial success with Terran R will unlock new opportunities to advance science, exploration, and innovation, pioneering progress that reaches beyond the known.

Joining Relativity means becoming part of something where autonomy, ownership, and impact exist at every level. Here, you're not just executing tasks; you're solving problems that haven't been solved before, helping develop a rocket, a factory, and a business from the ground up. Whether you're in propulsion, manufacturing, software, avionics, or a corporate function, you'll collaborate across teams, shape decisions, and see your work come to life in record time. Relativity is a place where creativity and technical rigor go hand in hand, and your voice will help define the stories we're writing together. Now is a unique moment in time where it's early enough to leave your mark on the product, the process, and the culture, but far enough along that Terran R is tangible and picking up momentum. The most meaningful work of your career is waiting. Join us.

About the Team:

The Avionics team is responsible for the full lifecycle of Terran R's nervous system, designing, building, testing, installing, and operating the hardware that connects and controls every major electrical system on the vehicle and ground. The team leverages close partnership between avionics design, manufacturing, and test to enable rapid iteration and feedback loops. Engineers are deeply embedded into other functions within Relativity, working closely with propulsion, GNC, fluids, and stage engineering teams to ensure seamless integration and operation. Now is a unique time to join: you'll get to help shape Terran R's fundamental avionics architecture and be given a high degree of ownership on components that will fly.

About the Role:

As the Lead of Avionics Battery Test Engineering, you will build and lead the team responsible for all high-voltage battery testing at Relativity, spanning performance, electrical, abuse, and destructive test programs at both the pack and cell level. You will stand up this capability from the ground up: defining the test strategy, building out lab and test infrastructure, establishing safety and procedural standards, and hiring and developing a team that includes electrical/performance test engineers and abuse/destructive test engineers, as well as cell-science expertise. You will oversee HV battery bring-up, pack- and cell-level testing, structured failure analysis, and the data systems that turn test results into rapid, high-quality feedback for design teams. This role requires a strong technical foundation in battery testing and energetics, hands-on lab expertise, and experience managing test teams in fast-paced development environments.

About You:

• Bachelor's degree in engineering (mechanical, electrical, chemical, aerospace, or related field)
• Extensive experience in battery testing, validation, or energetics system evaluation, including hands-on execution of test programs
• Strong understanding of battery physics, safety behavior, failure modes, and HV system fundamentals
• Experience defining and executing performance, durability, abuse, and destructive test programs
• Hands-on experience with battery test equipment, cyclers, chambers, DAQ systems, and instrumentation hardware
• Experience with HV battery bring-up, sensor instrumentation, test fixture design, and test setup design
• 3+ years leading test engineering teams, including development of engineers' technical and leadership skills
• Strong safety mindset and comfort overseeing high-energy, high-consequence test operations
• Strong analytical, communication, and cross-functional collaboration skills

Nice to haves but not required:

• Bachelor's degree in engineering (mechanical, electrical, chemical, aerospace, or related field)
• Extensive experience in battery testing, validation, or energetics system evaluation, including hands-on execution of test programs
• Strong understanding of battery physics, safety behavior, failure modes, and HV system fundamentals
• Experience defining and executing performance, durability, abuse, and destructive test programs
• Hands-on experience with battery test equipment, cyclers, chambers, DAQ systems, and instrumentation hardware
• Experience with HV battery bring-up, sensor instrumentation, test fixture design, and test setup design
• 3+ years leading test engineering teams, including development of engineers' technical and leadership skills
• Strong safety mindset and comfort overseeing high-energy, high-consequence test operations
• Strong analytical, communication, and cross-functional collaboration skills

At Relativity Space, we are committed to transparency and fairness in our compensation practices. Actual compensation will be determined based on experience, qualifications, and other job-related factors. Compensation is only one part of our total rewards package. Relativity Space offers competitive salary and equity, a generous PTO and sick leave policy, parental leave, an annual learning and development stipend, and more! To see some of the benefits & perks we offer, please visit here.

Hiring Range:

$151,000—$227,000 USD

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

If you need a reasonable accommodation, please contact us at [e-mail].