Senior Test Engineer

Icarus•El Segundo, CA

1d•$90,000 - $140,000•Onsite

About The Position

Icarus was founded on the belief that the Stratosphere is the Forgotten Frontier and that reclaiming it will define the next era of aerospace and what is possible from the sky. We build solar-powered aircraft that fly at 60,000 ft for weeks at a time, delivering persistent, affordable, and scalable presence from this layer of the atmosphere. This is not a normal engineering job. We are pioneers, not corporate managers. Icarus deliberately optimizes for a high signal (engineers) to noise (management) ratio, where engineering, flight, and execution matter more than process, politics, or management overhead. You will work side by side with the CEO and a small team of world-class builders. You will own your work end to end. Test it. Break it. Find the failure. Fix it. Validate it. Then do it again, faster. We expect full extreme ownership. This is a high-trust, no-BS team, and everyone pulls their weight. You will be a core part of getting flight systems from concept to reality, proving they work and driving rapid iteration loops. If you want real ownership, real hardware, and real flight, this is it. No tourists. No bystanders. Only builders.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, aerospace, mechanical, or a similar technical field.
2+ years of professional, internship, academic, or project-based experience testing real hardware — electronics, electromechanical systems, or similar (coursework, internships, and serious personal projects count).
Ability to read and interpret schematics, layouts, and BOMs (mechanical drawings a plus).
Hands-on experience with common test equipment such as multimeters, oscilloscopes, and power supplies, and basic component-level troubleshooting.
Familiarity with PCBA/electronics testing and/or environmental, qualification, or integration testing.
A strong willingness to learn, ask questions, and grow in a fast-paced engineering environment.
Comfort moving fast, owning outcomes, and troubleshooting in the field.

Responsibilities

Build, run, and improve test setups and procedures for our aircraft hardware — avionics, power systems, sensors, and electromechanical assemblies — at the bench and at the system level.
Perform incoming inspection and bring-up of electronics (PCBAs and COTS components) and mechanical assemblies, and troubleshoot issues down to root cause.
Run environmental and qualification testing — thermal, vibration, and altitude/vacuum — to prove our hardware survives the stratosphere.
Develop hardware-in-the-loop and automated test setups that make engineering iteration loops faster.
Support calibration of test and development assets and keep test equipment maintained and reliable.
Capture and analyze test data, document results, disposition non-conformances, and drive corrective actions and improvements back into the product.
Review schematics, layouts, BOMs, drawings, and work instructions, and help create clear test documentation.
Support integration, production bring-up, and flight test in the field.