Test Engineer

Matter Intelligence•El Segundo, CA

26d•Onsite

About The Position

This role sits at the boundary of Engineering and Operations. You’ll keep sensor platforms flight-ready, execute data collection campaigns, support flight software V&V, and perform electrical integration across airborne and ground-based systems. You will work directly with sensor engineers, satellite systems designers, flight software developers, and leadership. You own problems end-to-end — pre-flight checkout through data delivery through post-flight reporting. This is a field-forward role for an engineer with strong fundamentals who can operate with autonomy and deliver results scientists and customers depend on.

Requirements

B.S. in Aerospace, Mechanical, or Electrical Engineering (accredited, 3.0+ GPA).
2+ years operating multi-rotor UAS platforms in field environments.
Experience with Lidar, hyperspectral, or multispectral imaging sensors.
Ability to read electrical schematics, wiring diagrams, and ICDs.
Familiarity with software V&V processes: test planning, execution, defect tracking, reporting.
Clear communicator. Willing to travel up to 30% and work at remote field sites.

Nice To Haves

Experience with hyperspectral drone systems.
FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate.
Experience with mission planning software and GPS/RTK systems.
Working knowledge of GIS or spectral processing tools (ENVI, ERDAS, QGIS).
Prior NASA JPL, USGS, DOE, or DoD test bed or field campaign experience.
Familiarity with NASA 7120 standards, TVAC, vibration, or EMI/EMC testing.
Experience with embedded systems, RTOS, or flight software debug tools.
Hands-on soldering, crimping, wire routing, and continuity testing.
Active or obtainable U.S. security clearance.

Responsibilities

Deploy Lidar, VNIR, SWIR hyperspectral sensors on drone platforms for field campaigns.
Maintain and operate DJI and Harris and Autel UAS platforms including pre-flight inspections, firmware updates, and hardware repairs.
Design mission and flight plans including waypoints, sensor triggering, altitude, and overlap parameters.
Coordinate post-collection data uploads, quality checks, and ground-truth field measurements.
Support radiometric, geometric, and spectral calibration of imaging payloads.
Perform integration, checkout, and acceptance testing of sensor payloads on UAS and ground-based test bed platforms.
Troubleshoot hardware, software, and interface anomalies. Contribute to test procedures, test reports, and review boards per NASA or equivalent standards.
Support flight software verification and validation: test scope definition, planning, execution, reporting, and formal documentation.
Debug flight software anomalies across software, firmware, and hardware interfaces. Maintain defect tracking and contribute to root cause analysis.
Support cable harnessing, connector mating, power distribution, signal verification, and interface testing between sensors, avionics, and compute elements.
Perform bench and system-level troubleshooting using oscilloscopes, multimeters, and logic analyzers. Read and interpret schematics, wiring diagrams, and ICDs.