Sr. Manager, Powertrain Test Engineering
On-siteSouth San Francisco, California, United States
Job Summary
Lead a team of specialist test engineers and technicians to characterize powertrain components, including motors, propellers, and actuators, across the full flight envelope. Develop and drive multi-month test campaigns for BLDC motor performance, thermal modeling, and electromagnetic behavior, while owning propeller and actuator programs for structural durability and failure-mode analysis. Partner with design and equipment engineering teams to validate models against dynamometer data, design custom test rigs, and drive rapid fault identification through accelerated life testing and destructive analysis. Own inputs for vehicle-level diagnostics to generate early warning systems for the commercial fleet, applying first-principles analysis to close the loop on cooling strategies and derating curves.
Required Qualifications
- 8+ years of experience in hardware test engineering, reliability engineering, or propulsion/powertrain development
- 2+ years in a people management or technical leadership role
- Deep hands-on experience testing electric motors (BLDC preferred) and/or propellers
- Understanding of thrust, torque, power, and efficiency trade-offs
- Ability to instrument for thrust, torque, power, and efficiency
- Strong understanding of motor thermal modeling and test correlation
- Strong understanding of motor electromagnetics
- Understanding of factors affecting flux linkage
- Characterization of different motor losses
- Ability to measure or infer motor properties from test data
- Experience testing actuators or servo motors
- Experience with position/rate control performance
- Experience with endurance testing
- Experience with failure-mode characterization
- Strong grounding in reliability engineering methods
- Experience with FMEA
- Experience with life/Weibull analysis
- Experience with accelerated life testing
- Ability to translate field/flight data into test requirements
- Demonstrated experience designing or specifying large, complex test equipment
- Experience with dynamometers
- Experience with thrust stands
- Experience with wind-generation systems
- Experience with environmental chambers
- Experience with aerodynamic/mechanical test rigs
- Working knowledge of aerodynamics and propeller theory
- Ability to design representative test conditions
- Ability to interpret test results
- Strong data instrumentation and analysis skills
- Experience with DAQ systems
- Experience with sensor selection
- Experience with signal conditioning
- Experience with statistical analysis of test data
- Proficiency in Python or equivalent for scripting and data analysis
- Experience managing cross-functional test programs
- Experience in fast-moving hardware programs
- Bias toward hands-on problem solving
- Comfortable in the lab and on the test floor
- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Aerospace, Electrical Engineering, or a related field
Desired Qualifications
- Advanced degree
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