Test & Verification Engineer II/III

Kraken Kinetics•Pinehurst, NC

13d•$115,000 - $138,000•Onsite

About The Position

Kraken Kinetics is seeking a hands-on Test & Verification Engineer II/III to help develop and mature the testing and verification capabilities needed to support product development, design verification, qualification, production acceptance, and continuous product improvement. This is not a narrowly scoped test execution or data-analysis role. We are looking for an engineer who can take ownership of the broader testing problem: understanding what needs to be proven, determining whether requirements are practically testable, developing the test approach, selecting and configuring equipment, instrumenting the device under test, collecting and analyzing data, troubleshooting failures, documenting the work, and helping turn successful approaches into repeatable test methods. The Test & Verification Engineer will work closely with systems, mechanical, electrical, firmware, manufacturing, and program teams throughout the product-development lifecycle. Early in development, this engineer will participate in requirements and design reviews and provide practical input on testability and verification feasibility. As designs mature, the engineer will help develop test plans, procedures, fixtures, instrumentation, automation, data-analysis methods, and verification documentation. Kraken’s test infrastructure and processes are still developing, but this role will not operate in isolation. To date, engineers across the organization have collectively supported many of Kraken’s testing and verification needs and will continue to provide specialized technical expertise and design knowledge. The Test & Verification Engineer will help bring greater focus, ownership, consistency, and repeatability to that work. We do not expect one engineer to fill every gap or be an expert in every test discipline. We do expect this person to identify important gaps, take ownership of the problems they can solve, bring in the right expertise when needed, and steadily improve Kraken’s overall verification capability. As Kraken grows, we expect the Test & Verification function to expand into a broader multidisciplinary team with deeper specialization in areas such as electronics and embedded systems testing, environmental and mechanical qualification, shock and vibration, weatherproofing and ingress protection, automated test systems, and production acceptance testing. This position offers the opportunity to make an immediate individual contribution while helping establish the foundation for that future team.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Systems Engineering, Mechatronics, Physics, or a related technical discipline.
Professional experience in test engineering, design verification, product validation, systems integration, product development, or related engineering work.
Demonstrated experience developing a test approach from an engineering problem or requirement, not solely executing pre-existing test procedures.
Hands-on experience instrumenting hardware and configuring engineering test systems.
Experience using engineering test equipment such as oscilloscopes, multimeters, DAQs, power supplies, electronic loads, sensors, environmental equipment, or similar instrumentation.
Ability to understand engineering requirements and translate them into measurable test objectives and acceptance criteria.
Experience collecting, analyzing, interpreting, and communicating engineering test data.
Demonstrated ability to troubleshoot technical problems and methodically investigate unexpected results.
Ability to work effectively across mechanical, electrical, firmware, software, systems, and manufacturing disciplines.
Strong technical documentation and communication skills.
Willingness to personally build fixtures, configure equipment, write scripts, execute testing, analyze results, and troubleshoot failures.
Ability to work effectively in an environment where products, requirements, processes, and infrastructure are continuing to evolve.
Demonstrated initiative and ability to independently identify problems, develop a practical path forward, and drive technical work toward completion.

Nice To Haves

Experience in a small or growing engineering organization, R&D environment, or new-product-development setting requiring broad technical ownership.
Experience developing a test capability, laboratory setup, test station, fixture, or automated test system from concept through operational use.
Experience with LabVIEW, Python, MATLAB, or similar tools for test automation, instrument control, data acquisition, or analysis.
Experience configuring or developing software interfaces and drivers for laboratory equipment.
Experience integrating programmable instrumentation using Ethernet, USB, serial, CAN, GPIB, or similar communication interfaces.
Experience with environmental chambers and thermal, humidity, or thermal-cycling testing.
Experience with vibration, mechanical shock, durability, ingress protection, weatherproofing, EMI/EMC, or similar qualification testing.
Familiarity with MIL-STD or other defense, aerospace, automotive, electronics, or high-reliability product test standards.
Experience designing mechanical fixtures, electrical test interfaces, custom instrumentation, or prototype test hardware.
Experience developing automated test equipment, hardware-in-the-loop systems, production test fixtures, or end-of-line acceptance tests.
Familiarity with requirements traceability matrices, verification matrices, qualification plans, or formal verification documentation.
Experience with measurement uncertainty, calibration, metrology, or instrumentation-system validation.
Experience with structured failure analysis, root-cause investigation, corrective action, or experimental design.
Experience transitioning prototype or engineering test methods into repeatable production processes.
Experience supporting external laboratories, field testing, range testing, or customer-witnessed testing.
Interest in helping build the technical capability, tools, and working practices of a growing Test & Verification Engineering organization.

Responsibilities

Participate in requirements and design reviews to evaluate whether requirements are objective, measurable, and practically verifiable.
Work with systems and design engineers to translate requirements into appropriate verification methods, test approaches, and acceptance criteria.
Develop, refine, and execute test plans and procedures for development, design verification, qualification, regression, and production acceptance testing.
Design, build, configure, and integrate test setups, fixtures, instrumentation systems, data-acquisition systems, and supporting test hardware.
Bring new laboratory and test equipment online, including setup, configuration, software integration, validation, and documentation.
Instrument devices under test and select appropriate sensors, test equipment, sampling methods, and measurement techniques.
Develop scripts, tools, and automated test methods for instrument control, data acquisition, analysis, visualization, and reporting where appropriate.
Personally execute electrical, mechanical, firmware, environmental, subsystem, and integrated system-level testing.
Collect, analyze, interpret, and clearly document test data, results, anomalies, and conclusions.
Troubleshoot unexpected behavior and test failures in collaboration with cross-functional engineering teams.
Support root-cause investigations by developing diagnostic tests and experiments that help isolate failure mechanisms and verify corrective actions.
Distinguish between product failures, test-system issues, instrumentation limitations, fixture problems, software issues, and procedural errors.
Develop clear test reports, verification records, and supporting documentation that capture test configuration, procedure, results, and conclusions.
Improve test repeatability, data quality, procedural clarity, fixture usability, automation, and configuration control.
Support the transition of engineering test methods into repeatable production acceptance and manufacturing test processes.
Advocate for product testability, including appropriate access to signals, diagnostics, test points, interfaces, and fixture provisions.
Help establish practical standards for test planning, test readiness, documentation, data retention, verification traceability, and test infrastructure.
Support testing at external laboratories, supplier facilities, customer locations, field sites, or ranges as required.
Identify future test-equipment, tooling, facility, and personnel needs as Kraken’s products and verification requirements continue to expand.