Lead Test Engineer, R&D

ON.energy

4h

About The Position

ON.energy is building the power infrastructure that makes the AI era possible. As AI demand surges past what the grid and traditional data centers can support, ON.energy provides a new class of power technology proven at gigawatt scale and trusted by the world’s leading cloud and AI companies. Our systems are already deployed across 2.5 GW of hyper-scale campuses, validated by top U.S. national labs, and certified for grid-safe operation by major utilities. With real products in the field, we’re scaling faster than the grid can, transforming power from a bottleneck into a competitive advantage for the companies building the future.
The Lead Test Engineer will serve as a leader and facilitator of product development, validation, and de-risking activities. They will be responsible for the end-to-end planning and execution of advanced validation cycles within On’s own and partner facilities. The primary goals are to de-risk On Energy’s current and future product line system architecture through rigorous lab-based stress testing and to bridge the gap between lab results and reality by maintaining and operating lab capabilities to support training, troubleshooting, and customer engagement.

Requirements

• Education: B.S./M.S. in Electrical Engineering, Systems Engineering, or a related field.
• Familiarity: Prior experience testing and modeling grid code compliance of large inverter-based resources.
• Domain Expertise: Deep understanding of Energy Storage Systems (BESS), Power Electronics (Inverters/Rectifiers), and Grid-Forming technologies.
• The "Liaison" Factor: Exceptional communication skills—the ability to speak "Research" to NLR scientists and "Deployment" to On Energy field technicians.

Nice To Haves

• Experience working at a National Lab or within the DOE framework is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Test Orchestration and Planning
• Facility Coordination: Serve as the primary technical point of contact for principal investigators and facility managers.
• Test Protocol Development: Design and document detailed test procedures that utilize laboratory Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) research assets to validate On Energy’s performance under extreme conditions (e.g., rapid frequency response, grid and load transitions, or grid instability). Synthesize product design criteria, industry standards, and customer requests into detailed workplans.
• Compliance & Safety: Ensure all On Energy hardware and test procedures comply with industry safety standards and local Site Operations protocols.
• De-risking & Technical Validation
• Failure Mode Discovery: Use laboratory controlled environment to identify edge-case failures that are impossible to test in live field environments.
• Data Translation: Analyze high-fidelity data streams from laboratory sensors to provide actionable feedback to the On Energy product and project teams, as well as to On Energy component vendors, for firmware/hardware iterations.
• Verification: Report on data collected relative to product requirements and performance criteria for internal and customer review.
• On Energy Commissioning and Training Coordination
• Staff Mentorship: Use the testing phase at NLR as a live training ground for On Energy’s field commissioning staff, familiarizing them with system behavior, diagnostics, and recovery.
• Manual Development: Convert lab-based learnings into field-ready Commissioning SOPs and Troubleshooting Guides.
• Staff Rotation Management: Coordinate the rotation of On Energy field technicians through the NLR facility to ensure knowledge transfer is uniform across the commissioning department.

Benefits

• Competitive salary + annual performance-based bonus eligibility
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• 401(k) with company match
• Paid time off and company holidays
• Professional development and growth opportunities
• Opportunity to grow with a mission-driven team shaping the future of clean energy

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level