Senior Test Engineer

Inversion; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 137,000 - 193,000; Full time

Job summary

Inversion in Playa Vista, CA is looking for a Senior Test Engineer to plan and execute critical mechanical test campaigns for a next‑generation reentry vehicle. You will own development through qualification, collaborating with design, analysis, manufacturing, and external partners to retire risk and validate performance.

You will lead test planning, fixture design, instrumentation, and data collection, delivering thorough reports and ensuring readiness for production.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering or related field, or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years of professional development or mechanical test engineering experience in aerospace/defense.
• Experience developing component and subsystem test campaigns for mechanical hardware.
• Experience writing test plans, procedures, and post-test reports.
• Experience designing test fixtures, adapters, tooling, or ground support equipment.
• Strong understanding of mechanical systems, structures, interfaces, and hardware integration.
• Experience coordinating with external test facilities, vendors, or suppliers.
• Ability to work cross-functionally with design, analysis, manufacturing, and program teams.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Plan and execute component, subsystem, and system-level test campaigns.
• Lead complex tests to demonstrate performance under representative environments.
• Develop test plans, procedures, success criteria, and readiness documentation.
• Coordinate with external test facilities and vendors for test execution.
• Design and develop test fixtures, adapters, and ground support equipment.
• Collaborate with structures, mechanisms, dynamics, and manufacturing engineers.
• Define instrumentation and data collection needs for test validation.
• Manage test campaign logistics and hardware readiness.
• Lead troubleshooting and rapid iteration based on test learnings.
• Author test reports and present results and risks in reviews.

Skills

Test planning

Mechanical testing

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication skills

External test coordination

Education

Bachelor's degree in Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering

5+ years development/testing experience

Experience with test campaigns for mechanical hardware

Experience writing test plans and reports

Test fixtures/ground support equipment design

Understanding of mechanical systems and integration

External facilities/vendor coordination

Cross-functional collaboration

Verbal/written communication

Ability to work in fast-paced environment

Tools

CAD tools

Instrumentation planning

Test fixtures design

Job description

Turning Space into a Transportation Layer for Earth

Who We Are

Inversion builds advanced reentry systems to deliver next-generation capabilities from space.

Our mission is to make Earth radically more accessible by turning Low-Earth Orbit into an on-demand logistics domain. We see space not as a destination, but as a platform — one that unlocks unprecedented speed and global reach.

Our spacecraft are designed to deliver payloads anywhere on Earth in under an hour, operating through extreme reentry conditions and landing with high precision. These systems open the door to new ways of testing, delivering, and operating at hypersonic speeds.

Inherently dual‑use, our technology is built to meet urgent national security needs while laying the groundwork for future commercial applications. Backed by leading investors including Y Combinator, Spark Capital, and Lockheed Martin Ventures, and working with partners such as the U.S. Space Force and NASA, Inversion is pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in space‑based defense and logistics.

What You'll Do

As a Senior Test Engineer at Inversion, you will own the planning and execution of critical mechanical test campaigns for one of the most capable reentry vehicles ever developed. You’ll lead testing from early component and subsystem development through integrated demonstration, working closely with design, analysis, manufacturing, and external test partners to retire risk and validate system performance.

This is a unique opportunity to build and lead high‑consequence mechanical test campaigns for a new aerospace vehicle from early development through qualification and production. You will be a key member of the Mechanical team, reporting to the Director of Mechanical.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the planning and execution of component, subsystem, and system‑level test campaigns supporting deployment and separation mechanism development
• Lead complex test campaigns to demonstrate system performance under representative environments
• Develop test plans, procedures, success criteria, and test readiness documentation for mechanical development and validation activities
• Coordinate closely with external test facilities and vendors to define test requirements, facility interfaces, schedules, constraints, and execution plans
• Design and develop test fixtures, adapters, support equipment, and other GSE required to safely and effectively execute testing
• Partner with structures, mechanisms, dynamics, and manufacturing engineers to ensure test articles, fixtures, and instrumentation support key technical objectives
• Define instrumentation and data collection needs in collaboration with internal and external partners to ensure test results can validate performance and inform model correlation
• Drive test campaign logistics including hardware readiness, facility integration, procedural development, configuration tracking, and execution coordination
• Lead troubleshooting and issue resolution during test preparation and execution, and drive rapid turnaround on test learnings into follow‑on hardware or procedures
• Author test reports and communicate results, risks, and recommended next steps in design reviews and cross‑functional program forums

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent technical experience
• Typically 5+ years of professional experience in development testing, qualification testing, or mechanical system test engineering for aerospace, defense, or similarly demanding applications
• Experience developing and executing component and subsystem‑level test campaigns for mechanical hardware
• Experience writing test plans, procedures, test readiness documentation, and post‑test reports
• Experience designing test fixtures, adapters, tooling, or ground support equipment for mechanical or aerospace hardware
• Strong understanding of mechanical systems, including structures, mechanisms, interfaces, and hardware integration
• Experience coordinating with external test facilities, vendors, or suppliers to execute complex test programs
• Demonstrated ability to work cross‑functionally with design, analysis, manufacturing, and program teams to drive tests from concept through execution
• Demonstrated excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Proven ability to work effectively in a fast‑paced environment

Desired Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent experience
• Experience owning complex mechanism, deployment, or separation system test campaigns from early development through integrated demonstration
• Experience testing hardware in high‑dynamic, high‑shock, vibration, or transient mechanical environments
• Experience supporting correlation of test results to loads, structural dynamics, or multibody dynamics models
• Experience developing and executing tests for qualified flight hardware
• Experience with instrumentation planning, sensor selection, data acquisition coordination, and extraction of design‑relevant test data
• Experience supporting rapid hardware iteration and test‑driven development in a hardware‑rich environment
• Experience working with external government, commercial, or specialized test facilities
• Experience using CAD tools to design test fixtures, support equipment, or integration hardware

Our office headquarters is located in Playa Vista, CA. This position requires in office presence.

The California annual base salary for this role is currently $137,000 - $193,000. Pay Grades are determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data. Individual pay will be determined on a case‑by‑case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: interviews and an assessment of several factors that are unique to each candidate, job‑related skills, relevant education and experience, certifications, abilities of the candidate and internal equity.

ITAR Compliance

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Inversion provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, veteran status, or disability.

Inversion collects and processes personal data in accordance with applicable data protection laws. If you are a US Job Applicant see the CCPA Privacy Policy Notice for further details.