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Nominal builds software that lets hardware teams test, iterate, and deploy as fast as software teams.
The Role
Support customer deployments of a hardware test and operations platform across propulsion, satellite, flight-test, and similar environments. Responsibilities include coding data ingestion pipelines, building dashboards and workflows, troubleshooting issues in real time, training users, managing customer outcomes, and communicating product feedback to engineering teams. The role requires hardware systems experience, strong Python or similar coding skills, clear communication, comfort with ambiguity, occasional customer travel, and U.S. export-control eligibility.
Summary Generated by Built In
About Nominal
Nominal is building the connected test and operations platform powering the world's most advanced hardware systems, from spacecraft and autonomous vehicles to next-generation defense programs. Our platform gives hardware engineering teams a single place to ingest data, analyze performance, automate test execution, and collaborate across every phase of development, so they can move faster without sacrificing safety or precision. We're a fast-moving team that owns problems end-to-end, works across disciplines, and thrives at the intersection of hardware and software.
We serve top-tier commercial and defense customers, from autonomy leaders like Anduril and Shield AI to next-generation aerospace teams like Hermeus and REGENT, and performance engineering teams like Pratt Miller Motorsports, alongside mission partners within the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force on programs where failure isn’t an option. We’re backed by Sequoia, General Catalyst, Founders Fund, Lux Capital, and Lightspeed. Our team draws from SpaceX, Palantir, Anduril, Applied Intuition, and other leading companies, united by a common mission: giving hardware engineers the tools to build the future with speed, safety, and confidence.
The role
We’re looking for students with solid engineering fundamentals on track to graduate in Summer 2027 or sooner.
As a Mission Ops Engineer, you'll be the person on the ground helping customers deploy Nominal's platform into their test and operations environments — propulsion test stands, satellite mission ops, flight test, and similar high-stakes settings. You'll train users, troubleshoot issues in real time, and build the relationships that turn a deployment into a long-term partnership.
🚀 What you’ll do
- Write code to ingest and normalize customer data from test stands, DAQs, telemetry streams, and other hardware sources
- Build custom apps, dashboards, and workflows on Nominal's platform for each customer's specific needs
- Own outcomes for a set of customer accounts: run discovery to understand their test problems, then deliver solutions that stick
- Build trusted relationships with engineers and operators, and train their teams as they bring Nominal into daily use
- Debug issues across the stack in real time, and know when to solve something yourself versus pull in the broader team
- Turn patterns you see across customers into clear input for the product and engineering teams
🎯 Reach out if…
- You're graduating in Summer 2027 or sooner and are interested in a full-time position
- You have hands-on experience with hardware systems — test stands, robotics, aerospace, automotive, or similar — through internships, personal projects, research, or coursework
- You can write code (Python or similar) to work with real-world data, whether that's parsing sensor logs, building data pipelines, or automating analysis
- You communicate clearly and can explain technical ideas to people who aren't engineers
- You're comfortable working through open-ended problems in unfamiliar environments
- You're willing to travel occasionally to be on-site with customers
- You have a genuine interest in hardware testing and the industries Nominal serves
- Experience with data acquisition or hardware tools (DAQs, LabVIEW, MATLAB/Simulink) or data tools (SQL, Python, Pandas, Grafana)
- Prior customer-facing, account management, or technical support experience
✨ Benefits/Perks
- 100% coverage of medical, dental, and vision insurance
- Unlimited PTO and sick leave
- Free lunch, snacks, and coffee
- Professional Development Stipend
- 401k Plan
- In-office hardware lab with a $250 project stipend
- Annual company retreat
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin.
ITAR Requirements
To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.
Skills Required
- Graduating in Summer 2027 or sooner and seeking a full-time position
- Hands-on experience with hardware systems such as test stands, robotics, aerospace, automotive, or similar through internships, projects, research, or coursework
- Ability to write code in Python or a similar language for real-world data, sensor logs, data pipelines, or automated analysis
- Clear communication skills and ability to explain technical concepts to non-engineers
- Comfort working through open-ended problems in unfamiliar environments
- Willingness to travel occasionally to customer sites
- Genuine interest in hardware testing and the industries served by the company
- U.S. citizen or national, lawful permanent resident, refugee, asylee, or eligible to obtain required U.S. Department of State authorizations under ITAR
- Experience with data acquisition or hardware tools such as DAQs, LabVIEW, or MATLAB/Simulink
- Experience with SQL, Python, Pandas, or Grafana
- Prior customer-facing, account management, or technical support experience
Nominal Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Nominal and has not been reviewed or approved by Nominal.
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Healthcare Strength — 100% employer-paid medical, dental, and vision coverage is repeatedly described as covering both employees and dependents, indicating unusually strong healthcare provisioning. Additional mentions of “Platinum” coverage reinforce the sense of a high-tier plan offering.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Unlimited PTO and paid holidays/sick time are presented as part of the core package, suggesting broad time-off benefits on paper. Parental leave is also framed as fully paid in several places, reinforcing overall leave breadth.
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Wellbeing & Lifestyle Benefits — Wellness stipends, daily gourmet lunch (and sometimes dinner), and periodic retreats are consistently highlighted as meaningful lifestyle perks. Learning/development and other small stipends further round out a perks-heavy total rewards posture.
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The Company
What We Do
Nominal builds the essential software stack that enables hardware teams to test and iterate as rapidly as software teams. Nominal empowers engineers to continuously monitor, validate, and deploy innovations, transforming how mission-critical hardware is built and operated.
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