Test Equipment Engineer

Founded in 1918, Kearfott Corporation, a global Aerospace and Defense supplier for over 100 years, is a leader in the design and manufacture of precision motion control products and inertial navigation components.  Kearfott has a very long history of innovation and excellence and is the go-to brand for many of our global clients. Kearfott is trusted, respected and plays a vital role in the success of America’s aerospace and defense industries. With over a century of expertise & experience, Kearfott is dedicated to providing quality, reliability, and cutting-edge technology to customers worldwide to meet their sea, land, air, and space navigation and guidance requirements.

We are looking for talented individuals who want to be part of a world-class workforce. Join Kearfott and become part of a company that is recognized for technical expertise and respected world-wide as a ‘full service’ provider.

For more information visit our website at www.kearfott.com

Kearfott Guidance and Navigation is seeking a Test Equipment Engineer to support, maintain, troubleshoot, improve, and document production test equipment and automated test stations.

The Test Equipment Engineer will serve as a primary technical point of contact for production test equipment after stations are installed and released for production. This individual will monitor test station status and readiness, investigate equipment issues, coordinate repairs and corrective actions, and ensure problems are resolved in a timely manner.

The engineer will also support the design, development, integration, and implementation of new test stations and major equipment upgrades. This includes providing input into software, electrical, and mechanical design; assisting with equipment and instrumentation selection; and helping ensure new systems are maintainable, reliable, and suitable for production use.

The Test Equipment Engineer is expected to troubleshoot the test system as a whole. This includes determining whether an issue originates from software, electrical hardware, mechanical components, instrumentation, cabling, fixtures, configuration, test procedures, or equipment operation. The engineer should be capable of identifying root cause and developing a reasonable repair or corrective-action plan.

When appropriate, the engineer may make minor software, configuration, electrical, or mechanical changes directly. For issues requiring specialized expertise, the engineer will work with the appropriate Software, Electrical, Mechanical, Systems, Manufacturing, Quality, or Production personnel to develop and implement a solution.

The position will support test stations used for production, qualification, certification, and acceptance testing of various products.

• Maintain the operational status, availability, reliability, and readiness of production test equipment.
• Serve as a technical point of contact for assigned production test stations and equipment.
• Identify, troubleshoot, and resolve test station failures and recurring equipment issues.
• Perform system-level troubleshooting to determine whether problems originate from hardware, software, instrumentation, cabling, fixtures, configuration, procedures, or equipment operation.
• Perform root-cause analysis and develop appropriate repair, corrective-action, or improvement plans.
• Repair, modify, or configure equipment when appropriate and coordinate with other engineering groups, technicians, vendors, or suppliers when specialized support is required.
• Support a variety of automated and semi-automated test equipment, including motion systems, power supplies, temperature-control equipment, data acquisition systems, instrumentation, fixtures, and custom test equipment.
• Support the redesign, rebuild, and improvement of existing test stations to improve reliability, maintainability, usability, safety, and production capacity.
• Provide technical input into the electrical, mechanical, software, instrumentation, and system-level design of new test equipment.
• Assist with the selection and specification of test equipment, instrumentation, computers, interfaces, cables, fixtures, and supporting hardware.
• Support LabVIEW-based test software and other automation tools. LabVIEW experience is preferred; training may be provided to a qualified candidate with appropriate technical aptitude.
• Make or support minor test software and configuration changes when appropriate and coordinate larger software changes with the responsible software engineering team.
• Support the development, integration, verification, certification, qualification, release, and production deployment of new or modified test equipment.
• Investigate failures occurring during production and unattended test operations and determine appropriate corrective actions.
• Verify that repairs, modifications, and corrective actions resolve the original issue without negatively affecting other test station functions.
• Maintain equipment status, repair history, configuration information, maintenance records, and open action items.
• Develop and maintain required technical documentation, including Test Description Documents (TDDs), verification procedures, operating instructions, maintenance documentation, configuration records, and release documentation.
• Ensure test equipment is properly documented, verified, and released before being placed into production.
• Work closely with Production, Manufacturing Engineering, Quality, Software, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Systems Engineering, technicians, and other supporting organizations.
• Provide technical ownership of assigned issues and follow actions through completion.

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Systems Engineering, or a related technical field.
• 4+ years of experience with production test equipment, automated test systems, instrumentation, manufacturing equipment, or a related engineering environment.
• Demonstrated ability to troubleshoot complex systems involving a combination of electrical, mechanical, software, instrumentation, and configuration-related issues.
• Ability to perform root-cause analysis and develop practical corrective actions.
• Ability to read and interpret electrical schematics, wiring diagrams, mechanical drawings, equipment manuals, specifications, and technical documentation.
• Ability to use standard electrical and mechanical troubleshooting and measurement tools.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to work effectively across engineering, manufacturing, quality, and production organizations.
• Strong organizational and documentation skills.
• Ability to prioritize urgent production issues while continuing to support longer-term equipment improvements.
• Demonstrated initiative, technical ownership, diligence, and a results-oriented approach.
• Ability and willingness to learn Kearfott test equipment, software, processes, procedures, and engineering standards.
• Must be a US Citizen.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience developing, maintaining, or supporting automated production test stations.
• Experience with LabVIEW, Python, or other test automation software.
• Experience with data acquisition systems, programmable power supplies, motion-control systems, temperature-control equipment, serial communications, Ethernet/TCP/IP instrumentation, or similar test equipment.
• Experience troubleshooting communication interfaces, instrumentation, cables, fixtures, and electromechanical systems.
• Experience supporting equipment in a production or manufacturing environment.
• Experience with test equipment verification, qualification, certification, configuration control, and release processes.
• Experience creating and maintaining engineering and test documentation.

All work is to be performed onsite at our Pine Brook, NJ facilities.

In compliance with pay transparency requirements, the salary range for this role in New Jersey is $100,000 - $150,000 annually.  This is not a guarantee of compensation or salary, as final offer amount may vary based on factors including but not limited to job-related knowledge and skills, experience, and internal consistency.

Additionally, we offer a medical, prescription, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance, a 401(k) plan with company match, tuition assistance, paid vacation and sick days, paid holidays, and a 9/80 work week with every other Friday off. Our work environment embraces our people as we enjoy monthly employee events that celebrates our workplace culture.

Equal Opportunity Employer/including Disabled/Veterans