Senior Test & Validation Engineer

Hydraulic Technologies; Rockford (IL); On-site; USD 95,000 - 145,000; Full time

Job summary

Hydraulic Technologies seeks a Senior Test & Validation Engineer to lead verification, reliability, qualification, and certification activities for high-pressure hydraulic and electro-hydraulic products.

This role establishes validation strategies throughout the New Product Development process and provides objective evidence that products satisfy performance, durability, safety, regulatory, and customer requirements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics, Engineering Technology, or related technical discipline.
• At least five years of product validation, reliability, test engineering, or product development experience involving fluid power, electro-mechanical systems, or industrial equipment.
• Experience developing and executing structured qualification and reliability test programs within a formal product development process.
• Strong knowledge of hydraulics, fluid-power circuits, electric motors, DC electrical systems, batteries, sensors, controls, and data acquisition.
• Ability to interpret hydraulic schematics, electrical schematics, wiring diagrams, engineering drawings, specifications, and industry standards.
• Hands-on proficiency with hydraulic instrumentation, multimeters, oscilloscopes, power supplies, load or torque measurement, and data acquisition systems.
• Demonstrated analytical, troubleshooting, project-planning, technical-writing, and cross-functional communication skills.
• Ability to work safely around high-pressure hydraulics, energized equipment, heavy components, and stored energy.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute DVP&R for new products, platform extensions, engineering changes, and major revisions.
• Translate requirements into measurable test methods, acceptance criteria, sample plans, instrumentation, and validation schedules.
• Conduct laboratory, field, and customer-site testing for performance, safety, durability, and environmental exposure.
• Generate qualification reports and provide recommendations for phase-gate and product-release decisions.
• Support prototype builds, design iterations, pilot builds, and post-launch issue resolution.
• Develop accelerated-life, cycle-life, endurance, fatigue, and environmental test methods.
• Characterize failure modes and support reliability-growth plans across product families.
• Apply statistical methods, including Weibull analysis where data supports it.
• Partner with design teams to mitigate risks and verify corrective actions through testing.
• Establish reusable validation standards and reliability methods across families.
• Lead testing of battery-powered and electro-hydraulic products and evaluate under representative conditions.
• Safely test high-pressure products up to 10,000 psi and above with guarding and lockout/tagout.
• Design, build, commission, and maintain test fixtures and equipment.
• Select and integrate instrumentation for pressure, flow, force, torque, displacement, temperature, voltage, current, and battery performance.
• Develop automated or semi-automated test systems using LabVIEW, Python, PLCs, NI data acquisition hardware.
• Improve repeatability, traceability, throughput, data integrity, calibration, and lab standard work.
• Develop benchmark plans for performance, durability, weight, ergonomics, serviceability, and reliability.
• Disassemble and evaluate competitive products; document approaches and failure modes; identify differentiation opportunities.
• Communicate benchmark findings to engineering and product management to support requirements and roadmaps.
• Analyze test data for compliance and communicate conclusions, risks, and recommendations.
• Correlate physical results with calculations and models; support root-cause investigations.
• Define containment and corrective-action verification tests with traceable records.

Skills

Hydraulics

Data acquisition

LabVIEW

Python

Electrical systems

Analytical skills

Safety compliance

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering

Bachelor's degree in Mechatronics Engineering

Engineering Technology

Tools

LabVIEW

Python

MATLAB

PLC programming

NI hardware

Job description

The Senior Test & Validation Engineer leads product verification, reliability, qualification, and certification activities for Hydraulic Technologies' high-pressure hydraulic and electro-hydraulic products. This role establishes validation strategies throughout the New Product Development process and provides objective evidence that products satisfy performance, durability, safety, regulatory, and customer requirements.

The engineer works cross-functionally with Design Engineering, Product Management, Quality, Manufacturing, Sourcing, suppliers, and customers. The ideal candidate combines strong fluid-power knowledge with hands-on laboratory capability, structured problem solving, data acquisition, reliability methods, and clear technical communication.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Product Verification and Qualification

• Develop and execute Design Verification Plans and Reports (DVP&R) for new products, platform extensions, engineering changes, and major product revisions.
• Translate product and customer requirements into measurable test methods, acceptance criteria, sample plans, instrumentation requirements, and validation schedules.
• Conduct laboratory, field, and customer-site testing for functional performance, safety, durability, environmental exposure, and intended-use conditions.
• Generate complete qualification reports and provide fact-based recommendations for phase-gate and product-release decisions.
• Support prototype builds, design iterations, pilot builds, production validation, and post-launch issue resolution.

Reliability and Durability Engineering

• Develop accelerated-life, cycle-life, endurance, fatigue, pulse-pressure, abuse, and environmental test methods.
• Characterize failure modes, document failure progression, and support reliability-growth plans that improve product robustness.
• Apply appropriate statistical and reliability techniques, including Weibull analysis when sufficient data and test conditions support its use.
• Partner with design teams to mitigate identified risks and verify corrective actions through repeat testing.
• Establish reusable validation standards and reliability methods across product families.

Electro-Hydraulic Product Testing

• Lead testing of battery-powered and electrically driven hydraulic pumps, power units, cylinders, jacks, synchronized lifting systems, bolting and torque tools, valves, manifolds, sensors, wired and wireless controls, embedded controllers, and HMI interfaces.
• Evaluate product behavior under representative pressure, flow, force, torque, load, duty cycle, temperature, vibration, contamination, electrical-load, and battery-use conditions.
• Safely test high-pressure hydraulic products, including systems operating at 10,000 psi or above, using appropriate guarding, pressure-release, lockout/tagout, and stored-energy controls.

Test Systems, Instrumentation, and Automation

• Design, build, commission, and maintain hydraulic, electrical, and electro-mechanical test fixtures and laboratory equipment.
• Select and integrate instrumentation for pressure, flow, force, torque, displacement, speed, temperature, voltage, current, and battery performance.
• Develop automated or semi-automated test systems using LabVIEW, Python, PLCs, National Instruments data acquisition hardware, or equivalent platforms.
• Improve repeatability, traceability, throughput, data integrity, calibration practices, and laboratory standard work.
• Develop and execute competitive benchmark plans for performance, durability, weight, ergonomics, serviceability, and reliability.
• Disassemble and evaluate competitive products, document design approaches and failure modes, and identify opportunities for differentiation.
• Communicate benchmark findings to Engineering and Product Management to support requirements, technology strategy, and product roadmaps.

Data Analysis and Engineering Investigations

• Analyze test data, determine compliance with requirements, and communicate conclusions, risks, and recommendations through clear technical reports.
• Correlate physical test results with engineering calculations, analytical models, and simulation results where applicable.
• Lead or support structured root cause investigations involving laboratory failures, production issues, supplier concerns, field returns, warranty claims, and safety-related conditions.
• Define containment and corrective-action verification tests and maintain traceable records in accordance with company quality procedures.

Product Compliance and NPD Leadership

• Participate in NPD phase-gate reviews, design reviews, requirements reviews, DFMEA/PFMEA activities, and technical risk assessments.
• Support qualification and certification activities involving applicable UL, ETL, CE, ATEX, IEC, ISO, ASME, and customer-specific requirements.
• Coordinate with third-party laboratories and certification agencies and ensure supporting test documentation is complete and accurate.
• Mentor engineers and technicians in test safety, instrumentation, validation planning, troubleshooting, and reporting best practices.
• Promote customer-focused innovation, safety, quality, urgency, accountability, and continuous improvement.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering, Engineering Technology, or a related technical discipline.
• At least five years of product validation, reliability, test engineering, or product development experience involving fluid power, electro-mechanical systems, or industrial equipment.
• Experience developing and executing structured qualification and reliability test programs within a formal product development process.
• Strong knowledge of hydraulics, fluid-power circuits, electric motors, DC electrical systems, batteries, sensors, controls, and data acquisition.
• Ability to interpret hydraulic schematics, electrical schematics, wiring diagrams, engineering drawings, specifications, and industry standards.
• Hands-on proficiency with hydraulic instrumentation, multimeters, oscilloscopes, power supplies, load or torque measurement, and data acquisition systems.
• Demonstrated analytical, troubleshooting, project-planning, technical-writing, and cross-functional communication skills.
• Ability to work safely around high-pressure hydraulics, energized equipment, heavy components, and stored energy.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with high-pressure hydraulic systems operating at 10,000 psi or above.
• Experience validating industrial lifting, bolting, tensioning, torque, rail, mobile, mining, construction, energy, or MRO equipment.
• Experience with lithium-ion battery-powered industrial products, battery-management systems, or motor controls.
• Experience with LabVIEW, Python, MATLAB, PLC programming, test automation, statistical analysis, or reliability software.
• Familiarity with CAN bus, J1939, serial communications, wireless controls, and embedded-system diagnostics.
• Working knowledge of applicable ASME B30, ISO 13725, EN 1494, CE, ATEX, ETL, UL, IEC, or related requirements.
• Familiarity with DFMEA, DVP&R, Design for Reliability, FEA correlation, and structured root-cause analysis.
• Fluid Power, LabVIEW, Lean Six Sigma, reliability, or related technical certification.

Success Measures

• Validation programs are completed safely and in alignment with project timing.
• Product releases are supported by complete, traceable qualification evidence.
• Design and reliability risks are identified early and closed through verified corrective action.
• Laboratory productivity and data quality improve through automation, standardization, and capability development.
• Product launches achieve required certification and experience fewer preventable field issues.

Work Environment and Physical Requirements

• Work is performed in engineering office, laboratory, manufacturing, supplier, customer, and field environments.
• Regular use of personal protective equipment and adherence to laboratory, electrical, lifting, pressure-release, and lockout/tagout procedures is required.
• Ability to install instrumentation, connect hoses and wiring, inspect equipment, and position test components using appropriate material-handling assistance.

Occasional travel is required for field testing, supplier support, certification activities, and customer evaluations.