Sr. Reliability Test Engineer at LMK Recruiting Solutions in Irvine, California, United States

Job description

• Aerospace is at a turning point — costs are rising, supply chains are strained, and old ways of building can't keep up. At Neon Aero, we're breaking that mold. We move fast, think big, and combine start-up agility with aerospace expertise to design, build, and scale aircraft in ways the industry has never seen. Our team leverages automation, AI-driven tools, and a fully connected digital backbone to accelerate innovation and reduce barriers to production.
• Here, you won't just take a job — you'll help reinvent how the world flies. If you're ready to solve complex problems, push technology further, and work alongside some of the brightest minds in aerospace, this is your chance to make a real impact.
• We are seeking a Senior Reliability Test Engineer to define, build, and execute reliability and validation testing across complex electromechanical systems.
• This role sits within the systems development team and is responsible for ensuring that our products meet fundamental performance, durability, and operational requirements through rigorous engineering validation and characterization. You will own reliability test strategy, lab infrastructure, and execution for systems including electromechanical actuators, thermal management systems, and hybrid power platforms.
• Your work will expose failure modes early, quantify design risk, and generate the data required to drive confident engineering decisions. While you will not own design directly, your test strategy, observations, and insights will materially influence engineering tradeoffs and system direction.
• This is not a certification role. It is engineering-driven validation focused on breaking systems, understanding real-world behavior, and ensuring designs are ready before formal qualification (e.g., DO-160 and related standards). The role operates upstream of certification, but also plays a critical part during certification by providing high-confidence data, validating assumptions, and helping streamline products through the qualification process in close partnership with systems and certification teams.
• We are intentionally breaking from traditional aerospace development models. Rather than relying on extended analysis followed by a single certification-bound prototype, we build and test multiple prototypes early to uncover issues quickly and iterate based on real data. This role is central to that approach.
• This is the first senior hire in reliability and validation. You will define how this function operates from test philosophy and infrastructure to execution and scaling, establishing the foundation for how the company validates hardware as it grows.

Responsibilities

• Reliability Strategy & Test Development
• Define reliability and validation test strategies for complex electromechanical systems based on system requirements and expected use conditions
• Translate engineering requirements into structured, executable test plans and success criteria
• Develop test methodologies to characterize performance, durability, and environmental robustness
• Design tests to uncover edge cases, failure modes, and system limitations early in development
• Test Infrastructure & Lab Development
• Build and scale internal reliability lab capabilities, including test stands, fixtures, instrumentation, and data acquisition systems
• Define lab workflows, safety practices, and repeatable test processes
• Select, procure, and integrate test equipment required for mechanical, electrical, and environmental testing
• Establish calibration, data integrity, and test traceability practices
• Hands-On Test Execution
• Lead execution of reliability and characterization testing on prototype hardware
• Instrument systems and test setups to capture meaningful, high-quality data
• Run mechanical, thermal, electrical, and combined stress tests across relevant operating conditions
• Adapt test approaches dynamically based on observed behavior and emerging risks
• External Test Management
• Manage external test vendors (e.g., environmental and specialized test labs)
• Define test scopes, review setups, and ensure alignment with internal objectives
• Evaluate test quality, data validity, and adherence to intended conditions
• Integrate external results into overall validation strategy
• Data Analysis & Risk Assessment
• Analyze test data to quantify performance margins, degradation trends, and reliability risks
• Apply statistical methods where appropriate to understand variability and confidence levels
• Communicate clear, actionable insights to engineering teams and leadership
• Provide structured assessments of design readiness and residual risk
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Partner closely with Systems, Mechanical, and Electrical Engineering teams
• Support failure investigations by providing high-quality test data and observations
• Contribute to pre-certification readiness by validating designs against expected environmental and operational conditions
• Ensure alignment between test strategy and system-level requirements

Requirements

• Minimum of 8 years of experience in reliability engineering, validation testing, or system-level hardware testing
• Experience developing and executing test strategies for complex electromechanical systems
• Hands-on experience building and operating test setups, fixtures, and instrumentation
• Strong understanding of mechanical, electrical, and environmental stress testing methods
• Experience working with external test labs and managing outsourced test campaigns
• Ability to translate requirements into structured test plans and measurable outcomes
• Strong data analysis and problem-solving skills with the ability to interpret complex test results
• Comfortable working hands-on in lab environments with prototype hardware
• Strong communication skills with the ability to convey technical findings clearly
• Experience with aerospace, automotive, robotics, or consumer hardware systems
• Familiarity with environmental and reliability standards such as DO-160 or similar frameworks
• Experience with accelerated life testing, fatigue testing, and environmental stress testing
• Background in statistical analysis methods (e.g., Weibull analysis, DOE, JMP, Python, MATLAB)
• Experience testing actuator systems, motor-driven systems, or power electronics
• Experience building new lab capabilities or scaling test infrastructure from early-stage environments

Skills

Required

• Reliability engineering
• Validation testing
• System-level hardware testing
• Test strategy development
• Test plan creation
• Test methodology development
• Test design
• Lab infrastructure development
• Test equipment selection and integration
• Data acquisition systems
• Calibration and data integrity
• Hands-on test execution

Preferred

• Accelerated life testing
• Fatigue testing
• Environmental stress testing
• Building new lab capabilities

Benefits

• This is the expected compensation range for this role. Final compensation will be based on role scope, experience, skills, internal equity and location. This role may also be eligible for bonus/equity/benefits, if applicable.
• $150,000 - $250,000 USD