Test Engineer

Tovala; Urbana (IL); On-site; USD 115,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible PTO

Healthcare coverage

401k with match

Free Tovala Oven and meals

Job summary

Tovala in Urbana, IL is seeking a hands‑on Lab Quality Engineer to build and maintain lab management systems for testing of home appliances. You’ll drive continuous improvement, support new product design and QA through test development, data analysis, and benchmarking.

The role requires 3–5 years of relevant experience, strong problem‑solving and communication skills, and a startup mindset. This onsite lab role offers relocation support and equity opportunities.

Qualifications

• Experience with test equipment, procedures, and mechanical/electrical principles.
• Ability to design experiments that answer clear questions and analyze results.
• Excellent written and verbal communication with engineers and non-technical stakeholders.
• Collaborates across functions to drive quality improvements.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain lab management systems for equipment, measurements, maintenance, and calibration.
• Drive continuous improvement with project reviews and data analysis.
• Support product design and QA through test development and benchmarking.
• Interpret performance data and provide formal recommendations to product teams.
• Conduct detailed mechanical/electrical tests to ensure conformance to specs and regulatory requirements.
• Review tool sensor data to ensure test accuracy and prepare thorough technical reports.

Skills

Test equipment

Mechanical/electrical principles

Problem solving

Communication

Tools

Python

R

Spreadsheets

AI‑assisted tools

Job description

We’re Tovala, a food-tech company reinventing home cooking to save consumers time. Through an innovative combination of hardware, software, and fresh food delivery, we make it incredibly simple for anyone to prepare and enjoy delicious, home-cooked meals without sacrificing time to do whatever matters to them. Through our superior technology, product experience and food quality, we have separated Tovala from the busy pack of other meal delivery businesses. In the process, we’ve amassed a loyal, rapidly growing following and our retention, product engagement and customer NPS are all best-in-class. We’ve raised over $100mm from great investors like Left Lane Capital, Origin Ventures, Y Combinator and Comcast Ventures and have invested strongly in building a unique culture that fosters growth, personal development and camaraderie.

What You’ll Do

• Build and maintain robust lab management systems for all equipment, measurement systems, maintenance, and calibration.
• Drive continuous improvement through team participation, project reviews, and result analysis. Support new product design and quality assurance teams through test development, data analysis, and competitor benchmarking.
• Use robust statistical methods to interpret performance data and make formal recommendations to product teams.
• Operate a variety of cooking appliances in representative conditions and design highly detailed appliance and thermal tests with project teams.
• Conduct diverse and complex mechanical and electrical tests to ensure product conformance to internal specifications and regulatory requirements.
• Continuously review and interpret tool sensor data to ensure the accuracy of testing.
• Provide updates to management and project teams as required, and prepare thorough, timely, accurate technical reports on tests performed using word processing, database, spreadsheet, and statistical/graphical software.

What You’ll Bring

• Required
• +3–5 years of experience with test equipment, procedures, and mechanical/electrical principles.
• Working knowledge of test concepts in the design and development of products and components.
• Strong problem-solving instincts and the discipline to design experiments that actually answer the question.
• Excellent communication skills. You can explain results and tradeoffs clearly to engineers and non-technical stakeholders.

Nice to Have

• Six Sigma knowledge and/or certification.
• Basic understanding of thermal, electrical, and mechanical engineering.
• Data analysis and visualization using spreadsheet tools, Python, R, or similar.
• Hands‑on experience with AI‑assisted tools for data analysis, reporting, or test scaffolding, and a point of view on where they help in a lab context.
• Experience working in a connected consumer product or food‑tech company.

Who You Are

• Outcome‑Oriented: You judge the quality program by what customers experience, not by how many documents you produced. You care about the right metrics and aren’t shy about changing them when they stop being useful.
• Cross‑Functional Leader: You lead through influence as much as authority. Engineering, ops, CX, and manufacturing partners trust you because you’re fair, technical, and direct.
• Hands‑On: You’re comfortable on a production line, in a teardown lab, and in a spreadsheet. You don’t outsource your understanding of the product.
• Startup Mindset: You’re comfortable in an environment where priorities evolve and where your work has a direct, visible impact on customers’ kitchens. You can build a process where it’s missing without over‑building.
• Curious and Adaptive: You stay current on quality practices and tooling, and you have a point of view on where AI and automation belong in a modern hardware quality program.

Location

Work out of our R&D and prototyping dream shop at The Product Manufactory (www.theproductmanufactory.com) in Urbana, IL. This is an onsite role in our lab.

Salary Range

$115,000 - $150,000 a year

Relocation Assistance

a one‑time relocation bonus is available for those relocating for this position.

Tovala uses market data, geography, and placement of internal employees to determine salary. Additionally, we offer all employees real ownership in the company in the form of a competitive equity package.

Benefits

• Flexible paid time off (with a minimum of 15 days off you are highly encouraged to take)
• Comprehensive healthcare coverage we really invest in
• 401k with match
• Free Tovala Smart Oven and discounted Tovala meals
• Paid holidays and our winter holiday office shutdown where the offices and facilities close for a week around Christmas and New Years
• Various other perks – recognition programs, continued learning stipend, casual dress code, in‑office coffee, snacks and drinks, and Tovala swag