Operations & Test Engineer I

ICON•Austin, TX

22h

About The Position

ICON is looking for an Operations & Test Engineer I to support ICON’s efforts in developing robotic products and materials related to the Olympus Off-Planet R&D program. This candidate will translate engineering intent into operational reality by developing and improving processes, monitoring performance, leading structured problem-solving, and coordinating cross-functional execution across Manufacturing, Service, Quality, Supply Chain, and Product Engineering. This individual will be a great communicator, a self starter, and have a range of strengths that support a proactive and self-driven approach to operational and test responsibilities for Off-Planet material production and analysis, technical support and maintenance of lab and/or production equipment, and support of test and assembly of Off-Planet Robotic systems.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Industrial, Manufacturing Engineering, or equivalent practical experience.
5+ years of experience in operations engineering, manufacturing engineering, robotics operations, automation, or industrial systems.
Demonstrated experience leading structured problem-solving (e.g., 5 Whys, fishbone, FMEA) and implementing corrective actions.
Ability to analyze operational data (Excel/Sheets, SQL or scripting a plus) and communicate insights clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Working knowledge of production/field operations: SOPs, work instructions, change control, and basic quality concepts.

Nice To Haves

Previous start-up experience, and/or a resourceful innovative nature with an ability to streamline or develop efficient processes.
Familiarity with Lean / Six Sigma, reliability practices, or maintenance engineering concepts.
Experience with tools such as Jira/Confluence, MES/CMMS systems, dashboards (Looker/Power BI/Tableau), and test/telemetry logging.
Comfort working in ambiguous, fast-scaling environments and driving alignment across multiple teams.

Responsibilities

Ability to design, set up, and build out a lunar simulant production space.
Lead, without oversight, raw material ordering and inventory management.
Experience in simulant milling, blending, manufacturing, measuring and QA/QC lab testing.
Capable in generation of documentation and record keeping on both the simulant and Olympus labs in regards to equipment, material inventory, and safety.
Oversee machine and equipment maintenance as well as lab maintenance on both the simulant and Olympus labs.
Identify and coordinate equipment calibration as needed, maintaining a high performing status of all equipment across the Olympus sites.
Define and track operational KPIs and communicate trends/actions.
Partner with Defense R&D leadership to improve system reliability and maintainability through data-driven improvements and standardized work.
Lead the development and creation of SOPs for all lab and production equipment.
Assist, as needed, robotic system assembly and test supporting Olympus optical, mechanical, and/or electrical teams.
Assist with mineralogical testing and chemical analysis of lunar regolith and/or its ingredients.
Contribute to R&D efforts to scale production, increase product throughput, and optimize operations.
Coordinate and supervise facility-related activities, including planned and unplanned maintenance and reorganization efforts to improve workflow and functionality.
Assist with inventory operations for all consumable materials.
Promote a safety-first culture and ensure operations meet internal and regulatory requirements where applicable.