Propulsion Test Engineering Lead

Apex Space, Inc.; Los Angeles (CA); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity opportunities

Top-tier healthcare for you and depend

Generous PTO and holidays

401(k) matching

Parental leave

Job summary

Apex Space, Inc. seeks a Lead Propulsion Test Engineer to build and lead a team testing propulsion hardware across development, qualification, and production. You will own test infrastructure, including vacuum stands, GSE, and data acquisition, driving safety and data quality.

You will collaborate with engineering, production, quality, and facilities to scale propulsion testing as production grows, delivering reliable results and continuous process improvements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in aerospace, mechanical, electrical engineering, or related technical field.
• 10+ years of test engineering experience with propulsion, vacuum, or high-energy hardware.
• Experience designing, building, commissioning test stands/facilities incl. instrumentation, data acquisition, and controls.
• Hands-on vacuum test facilities experience with pumping systems, chambers, and vacuum instrumentation.
• Demonstrated track record leading and developing engineers/technicians.
• Strong test-safety knowledge for vacuum, high-pressure, high-voltage operations.
• Experience owning test schedules, capacity, throughput, and data quality for complex hardware programs.

Responsibilities

• Build, lead, and develop propulsion test engineers and technicians, prioritizing safety and technical rigor.
• Design, build, and operate test stands for thrusters, flow controllers, PPUs, and integrated propulsion systems, including GSE and diagnostics.
• Own propulsion vacuum test infrastructure, including chambers, pumps, thermal/cryogenic capability, and capacity planning.
• Develop scalable ATP infrastructure for high-rate propulsion production.
• Manage test capacity, scheduling, throughput, data quality, and turnaround across test campaigns.
• Establish and enforce test safety standards for vacuum, high-pressure, and hazardous operations.
• Collaborate with Environmental Test and Ground Software to standardize tooling and data acquisition.
• Work with propulsion teams, systems engineering, production, quality to ensure traceable, actionable results.
• Support development testing, qualification, production acceptance, launch campaigns, and root-cause investigations.

Skills

Team leadership

Test infrastructure design

Vacuum testing

GSE (Ground Support Equipment)

Data acquisition

Safety

Project scheduling

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in aerospace, mechanical, or electrical engineering

Tools

Vacuum chambers

Pumping systems

Instrumentation & controls

Job description

Apex Space, Inc. seeks a Lead Propulsion Test Engineer to build and lead a team testing propulsion hardware across development, qualification, and production. You will own test infrastructure, including vacuum stands, GSE, and data acquisition, driving safety and data quality.

You will collaborate with engineering, production, quality, and facilities to scale propulsion testing as production grows, delivering reliable results and continuous process improvements.