Test Engineer

Orbital • San Francisco, CA

1d

About The Position

Orbital is an AI-first industrial company building hardware from the atoms up. Our goal is to lead an industrial renaissance to advance critical technologies and secure our planet for generations to come. We’re starting with critical hardware for AI data centers to make them more performant and sustainable. Every Orbital product is invented with our AI platform — uniting AI-automated hardware engineering with AI-designed material science to achieve breakthrough real-world performance. We have an ambitious mission and need excellent people in all our teams - AI research, operations, advanced materials, mechanical engineering, chemical engineering and manufacturing. Working at Orbital means working in tightly integrated, vertically integrated teams. We’re looking for people who have a love of physical technology, curiosity in AI and a desire to learn.

Role Overview
You'll own the day-to-day operation of Orbital's next-generation Direct-to-Chip test rigs — running the tests, troubleshooting the hardware, and turning raw rig output into data the engineering team can act on. Starting with the final design of our tray-level test rig, you'll take it through component selection, build and commissioning, then do it again with a full rack-scale validation unit.

Requirements

• Experience operating test rigs or lab hardware, ideally in a thermal, fluids or electronics cooling context
• Confident with data — able to spot bad readings, sanity-check results and structure output for downstream analysis
• Comfortable with low-voltage wiring, thermocouples and sensor signals
• Practical troubleshooter who works the problem on the rig rather than from a desk
• Able to size and specify components and see procurement through to delivery

Nice To Haves

• Hands-on capability with 3D printers, CNC or workshop tooling is a genuine bonus

Responsibilities

• Lead day-to-day operation of our tray and rack level engineering test and validation rigs
• Plan, set up and execute test campaigns against engineering requirements
• Troubleshoot rig faults and drive them to resolution
• Carry out preliminary review of test data for quality and validity
• Feed clean, well-structured data into our analysis pipelines
• Report findings back to the engineering team and flag anomalies early
• Propose next steps to drive system efficiency
• Contribute to the final design of tray and rack level test rigs
• Size, identify and procure key rig components, managing suppliers and lead times
• Build and commission rigs, including leak checks and function testing
• Install and wire thermocouples, sensors and signal instrumentation
• Support mechanical and electrical builds, including control panels, under the guidance of our mechanical and electrical leads
• Verify sensor calibration and signal integrity before test

Benefits

• Competitive salary and equity package - the ability to own part of Orbital as we grow
• Flexible and generous paid time off
• Excellent health, dental and vision insurance plan
• Regular company offsites
• The experience of working in a cutting-edge organisation dedicated to a better future

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed