As a Senior Test Engineer, you own how Velo3D proves its metal additive manufacturing printers are ready to ship and keeps them running. Every printer passes through three stages of test:
• Subsystem bring-up (Level 600) — power up and verify each subsystem in turn: electrical and safety interlocks, argon gas and compressed air, cooling, motion, powder handling, laser optics, controls and software.
• System validation (Level 700) — confirm the subsystems work together and the printer meets its acceptance criteria.
• Final qualification (Level 800) — the last qualification checks and sign-off before a printer is released.
You own the procedures for bring-up and validation, sign off final qualification, and keep our internal printers qualified and available. Test Technicians execute your procedures; you are their technical escalation point.
Success looks like higher first-pass yield, shorter bring-up cycle time, failures caught in test rather than in the field, and recurring incidents closed with permanent fixes.
Responsibilities
• Procedures — Author, revise and release the bring-up (Level 600) and system validation (Level 700) procedures through engineering change control; set acceptance limits.
• Final qualification — Own Level 800 qualification and release sign-off; direct technician support and confirm printers arrive from system validation complete.
• Test equipment — Specify, build and validate test stations, fixtures and instrumentation; own gauge capability and calibration requirements.
• Internal fleet — Own incidents on internal printers to closure (ITRS, Splunk, Datadog); support software releases and user acceptance testing.
• Root cause — Lead root cause and permanent corrective action for test failures and recurring incidents with Hardware, Software, suppliers and Quality.
• Data and automation — Track yield, cycle time and downtime; write Shell/Python tooling to automate data capture, monitoring and repetitive steps.
• People and quality — Train Test Technicians on procedures, mentor junior engineers, and keep records to AS9100 standards.
Qualifications
• Bachelor’s in Electrical, Mechanical, Mechatronics or related engineering, or equivalent experience.
• 3–5 years in test, bring-up or manufacturing engineering on complex capital equipment (semiconductor, laser, medical, aerospace or automation).
• Has authored and released revision-controlled test procedures and led root cause to a verified fix.
• Hands-on across electrical (schematics, DMM, scope, megger), gas and fluid systems (P&IDs, leak-down), precision motion and optics.
• Controls and computing: firmware, PLC/controller interfaces, IP/Modbus networking, Linux/Windows, Shell and Python.
• Clear communicator who makes decisions from data and never skips a step under schedule pressure.
Preferred:
• Experience taking a new product from prototype into production test (new product introduction).
• Laser systems or metal additive manufacturing experience.
• Tracking equipment reliability and uptime — mean time between failures (MTBF) and mean time to repair (MTTR).
• Statistical process control (SPC) to monitor test results, and measurement system analysis (MSA) to prove test equipment is accurate and repeatable.
• Structured root cause methods such as 8D (eight-step problem solving) and 5-Why.
• Working in an aerospace or ISO quality system (AS9100 or ISO 9001).
Working Conditions
• Export control: must be ITAR-compliant (U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident).
• Laser safety, LOTO, compressed gas and metal powder training provided and must be maintained.
• Onsite at Fremont and Livermore; exposure to high voltage, Class 4 lasers, inert gases, metal powders and noise; PPE as posted.
• Standing, ladders and occasional confined spaces; lift up to 50 lbs; occasional off-shift work for machine-down events
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Electrical, Mechanical, Mechatronics, or related engineering, or equivalent experience
- 3-5 years of experience in test, bring-up, or manufacturing engineering on complex capital equipment
- Experience authoring and releasing revision-controlled test procedures
- Experience leading root-cause investigations through a verified fix
- Hands-on experience with electrical systems, schematics, DMM, oscilloscope, and megger
- Experience with gas and fluid systems, P&IDs, and leak-down testing
- Experience with precision motion and optics
- Experience with firmware, PLC/controller interfaces, IP/Modbus networking, Linux or Windows, Shell, and Python
- Clear communication and data-driven decision-making
- Experience taking a new product from prototype into production test
- Laser systems or metal additive manufacturing experience
- Experience tracking MTBF and MTTR
- Experience with SPC and MSA
- Experience with 8D and 5-Why root-cause methods
- Experience working in aerospace or ISO quality systems, including AS9100 or ISO 9001
- ITAR compliance as a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident
What We Do
Velo3D provides a fully integrated metal 3D printing solution for mission-critical parts used for space exploration, to enhance transportation efficiency, and to produce cleaner energy. Our advanced solution helps innovators build the complex parts they need without compromising design or quality, empowering the visionaries of today to build the technologies of tomorrow. @FastCompany World's Most Innovative Manufacturing Companies.
