Test Engineer

Volund Manufacturing; Huntington Beach (CA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Volund Manufacturing in Huntington Beach, CA seeks a hands-on Test Engineer who designs, builds, and analyzes propulsion test setups across mechanical, fluids, thermal, electrical, controls, and software domains.

You will design fixtures, assemble hardware, prototype solutions, install instrumentation, and manage data acquisition to quickly uncover root causes and improve performance.

Qualifications

• B.S. in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering (or equivalent hands-on experience).
• Fundamental understanding of jet engines Brayton cycle, compressor/combustor/turbine matching, and thrust relationships.
• Working knowledge of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer.
• Real hands-on build experience: Formula SAE, Baja.

Responsibilities

• Design test fixtures, adapters, plumbing, and supporting hardware, from CAD through fabrication.
• Build, plumb, and wire test setups: fuel systems, air supply, valves, pumps, sensors, and harnesses.
• Prototype quick solutions in the shop when the test needs something today.
• Install and check out instrumentation: thermocouples, pressure transducers, accelerometers, speed sensors, and flow meters.
• Configure and maintain the DAQ system, including channel setup, scaling, and live calculated channels.
• Write test plans and procedures, run tests, and keep the test cell safe and organized.
• Analyze engine and component test data, figure out what it's telling you, and present clear conclusions to the team.
• Chase problems across disciplines to the root cause: fluid, thermal, electrical, mechanical, or software.
• Support engine light-off, component characterization, and development testing.

Skills

Maker

Designer

Problem solver

Curious

Resourceful

Fast

Education

B.S. in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering (or equivalent hands-on experience)

Tools

CAD

DAQ systems

Job description

Volund is building propulsion for America's next industrial revolution.
We design propulsion systems for cost, agility, and scale, combining advanced automation, precision manufacturing, and rapid iteration to move from prototype to production at unprecedented speed.
Intelligent manufacturing is engineering at scale.
At Volund, engineers operate across the full stack, from concept and simulation to process code and machine execution, ensuring that what is designed can be built and what is built can be scaled.

Role

This isn't a "run the procedure and log the numbers" job. We need a test engineer who designs the test, builds the hardware, runs it, and figures out what went wrong when it doesn't behave. You'll work across mechanical, fluids, thermal, electrical, controls, and software, often in the same afternoon. If a test needs a fixture, an adapter, a harness, or a control box that doesn't exist yet, you'll design it and get it built.

What you'll do

• Design test fixtures, adapters, plumbing, and supporting hardware, from CAD through fabrication

• Build, plumb, and wire test setups: fuel systems, air supply, valves, pumps, sensors, and harnesses

• Quickly prototype solutions in the shop when the test needs something today, not next month

• Install and check out instrumentation: thermocouples, pressure transducers, accelerometers, speed sensors, and flow meters

• Configure and maintain the DAQ system, including channel setup, scaling, and live calculated channels

• Write test plans and procedures, run tests, and keep the test cell safe and organized

• Analyze engine and component test data, figure out what it's telling you, and present clear conclusions to the team

• Chase problems across disciplines to the root cause, whether that's a fluid, thermal, electrical, mechanical, or software issue

• Support engine light-off, component characterization, and development testing

The most important thing

You have a proven history of stepping into problems you've never seen before and quickly figuring out what to do. Maybe a competition car broke the night before an event, a lab experiment wasn't working and nobody knew why, or a project needed a skill you didn't have yet. You dug in, got resourceful, made a plan, and executed it fast. We want to hear those stories. That track record matters more to us than anything else on this list.

Who you are

• A maker. You've built things with your hands and you're comfortable in a shop. You can scramble together a working solution from what's on the shelf.

• A designer. You can take a problem from sketch to CAD to finished part, and you design for how things will actually get built and used.

• A problem solver who crosses boundaries. You aren't afraid to dig into a discipline you weren't trained in. If understanding the test means learning about combustion, electronics, or signal processing, you go learn it.

• Curious. You ask good questions, and you ask a lot of them. You want to understand why the test is set up the way it is.

• Resourceful. When you hit a wall, your first move is to dig: datasheets, textbooks, standards, papers, calculations, or a quick experiment. You come back with an answer, or at least a well-researched question.

• Fast. Once you know what to do, you get it done. You take ownership and finish what you start without needing to be chased.

What we're looking for

We know nobody early in their career checks every box below. If you have a solid foundation, a strong track record of figuring things out, and some of the skills listed, we want to hear from you.

Must have:

• B.S. in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering (or equivalent hands-on experience)

• Fundamental understanding of how jet engines work: the Brayton cycle, compressor/combustor/turbine matching, and how thrust, airflow, fuel flow, pressure ratio, and turbine temperature relate to each other

• Working knowledge of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer

• Real hands-on build experience: Formula SAE, Baja