Mechanical Test Engineer

Salient Motion, Inc.; Hawthorne, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Health insurance (100% covered)

Life Insurance (2x Salary)

Flexible PTO

401K

Job summary

Salient Motion, Inc. in Hawthorne, CA, is seeking an experienced Mechanical Qualification Engineer to lead vibration, thermal, humidity, altitude, and life testing for aerospace-grade hardware.

You will design fixtures, witness tests at customer and partner sites, and develop robust test documentation. The role focuses on DO-160G and MIL-STD-810H campaigns, requires hands-on instrumentation know-how, and involves travel domestically and internationally.

Qualifications

• BS in Mechanical, Aerospace, or related engineering required.
• Minimum 2+ years in qualification or environmental test in aerospace/defense hardware.
• Hands-on DO-160 and MIL-STD-810 test campaign experience.
• Experience with test instrumentation, load cells, accelerometers, and data analysis.
• Ability to travel internationally and operate under ITAR.

Responsibilities

• Plan, write, and execute mechanical qualification and acceptance test procedures.
• Develop test plans and reports to DO-160G and MIL-STD-810H.
• Design mechanical test fixtures, load setups, instrumentation, and data acquisition.
• Plan and execute life, durability, and environmental testing for reliability.
• Witness tests at customer and partner sites domestically and internationally.
• Coordinate test schedules and acceptance criteria with customers and labs.
• Analyze test data to identify failure modes and drive corrective action.
• Support building an in-house qualification lab as capability grows.

Skills

Mechanical engineering

Test instrumentation

Data acquisition

Technical writing

Travel international

ITAR compliance

Education

B.S. in Mechanical/Aerospace Engineering

Tools

Load cells

Accelerometers

Data acquisition systems

Job description

**Applicants must be U.S. Citizens or U.S. Permanent Residents (Green Card holders) to meet customer and regulatory requirements**

Who We Are

We are pioneering modular motion technologies to power the next generation of innovation for Industrial, Aerospace and Defense. If you're excited about disrupting legacy industries, and passionate about building the financial infrastructure behind cutting-edge hardware, let's chat!

We are at the forefront of innovation, crafting exclusive motion control components that propel the industrial, aerospace, and defense sectors into the future.

A couple other things:

• We offer a lot of autonomy
• We like to run lean for impact
• We have great benefits
• We are well funded, and already generating revenue
• We're currently in Hawthorne, CA

What you'll do:

This role focuses on the mechanical and environmental side of qualification: vibration, shock, thermal, humidity, altitude, and life/durability testing, including the design of test fixtures and instrumentation. The role includes witnessing tests at customer and partner sites, both domestically and abroad.

• Plan, write, and execute mechanical qualification and acceptance test procedures for actuators and integrated LRUs.
• Develop test plans and reports to DO-160G and MIL-STD-810H, including vibration, shock, thermal, humidity, and altitude testing to support qualification as well as unit acceptance testing.
• Design and build mechanical test fixtures, load setups, instrumentation, and data acquisition configurations.
• Plan and execute load, life and durability, and environmental testing to validate cycle reliability requirements.
• Manage testing at outsourced labs and witness tests at customer and partner facilities, domestically and internationally.
• Coordinate test schedules, witness points, and acceptance criteria with customers and labs.
• Analyze test data, identify mechanical failure modes, and drive root-cause/corrective action with design engineering.
• Support development of an in-house qualification test lab as capability matures.

What you need:

• B.S. in Mechanical, Aerospace, or related engineering discipline.
• 2+ years of qualification or environmental test experience on aerospace, defense, or comparable hardware.
• Hands-on experience executing DO-160 and/or MIL-STD-810 mechanical and environmental test campaigns.
• Proficiency with mechanical test instrumentation, load cells, accelerometers, data acquisition systems, and data analysis.
• Experience designing test fixtures and mechanical instrumentation setups.
• Strong technical writing for test plans and reports.
• U.S. Person status required per ITAR and ability to travel internationally (valid passport required).

Nice to have:

• Experience with electromechanical actuators, motors, gear trains, or precision mechanisms.
• Thermal, vibration and shock test familiarity (fixture design, modal considerations, test tailoring).
• Exposure to commercial/defense certification environments.
• Experience managing third-party test labs and witnessing customer acceptance testing.

What we have to offer:

We are not just building components. We are reshaping the future of the Aerospace and Defense component industry, which is a $300B+ market! Come join us and help build next generation systems that will make a massive impact at global scale.

• Competitive compensation:$110,000 to $130,000 base salary + equity
• Exceptional healthcare benefits — Medical is 100% covered by the company
• Life Insurance (2x Salary) 100% covered by the company
• Flexible PTO, 401K, Financial Wellness Resources, and more