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Battery Test Engineer

Pivotal

Location
Onsite (Palo Alto, California)
Employment
Full-time
Level
Mid Level
Posted 1 week ago

About the role

Pivotal, a leader in electric VTOL aircraft, is seeking a Battery Test Engineer to design and execute safety-critical testing for lithium-ion cells and packs. The role focuses on thermal-runaway, environmental, and durability testing to drive design improvements for next-generation aircraft.

Skills

Battery testing Lithium-ion battery safety Thermal-runaway testing Data acquisition Instrumentation Test planning Environmental testing Mechanical testing Electrical testing LabVIEW Python MATLAB High-voltage safety Root-cause analysis Test fixture design Hardware troubleshooting

Benefits

  • Medical
  • Dental
  • Vision
  • 401k

Full job details

Pivotal is the leader in the emerging market of electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft. We design, develop, and manufacture light eVTOL aircraft and are renowned for the BlackFly aircraft the world's first light eVTOL to fly manned missions and enter the consumer market. 

 

Efficient, compact, and simple, Pivotal aircraft are designed for a wide range of consumer, public service, and defense applications. Our distinctive tilt-aircraft architecture and scalable platform have been flying for over 10 years. Last year we announced our next-generation aircraft, the Helix, which is rapidly progressing toward general release and scalable production in 2026. 

 

Mobility is one of the most highly-valued areas of modern technology investments. This is the right company, in the right space, the right strategy, at the right time. If you are ready for adventure, we invite you to join our amazing team and grow with us.


About the Job  

The Battery Engineering team at Pivotal is seeking a hands-on Battery Test Engineer to own the design and execution of battery performance characterization, thermal-runaway, abuse, environmental, and durability testing. This engineer will translate system risks and requirements into safe, instrumented, repeatable tests at the cell and pack levels, then convert test results into defensible engineering evidence and actionable design improvements. 

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Responsibilities

  • Own test planning and hands-on execution for lithium-ion cells and aircraft battery packs. 

  • Plan and execute electrical and thermal performance characterization of cell candidates and prototype packs, including capacity, DCIR, power capability, mission-profile cycling, and thermal response across temperature. 

  • Operate high-power battery cyclers, cell cyclers, and environmental chambers, and maintain test profiles, data pipelines, and test-article configuration records. 

  • Deliver correlation-ready datasets to the simulation team and support model-versus-test comparison. 

  • Design, build, and execute thermal-runaway initiation, propagation, containment, venting, and mitigation tests, including fabrication of test articles, trigger methods, fixtures, and instrumentation appropriate to test objectives. 

  • Develop environmental and durability tests covering temperature, thermal cycling, altitude or low-pressure exposure, humidity, vibration, mechanical shock, and transportation conditions as applicable. 

  • Define test objectives, hazards, instrumentation needs, data-acquisition architecture, trigger logic, sampling rates, acceptance criteria, and stop conditions. 

  • Prepare test articles, fixtures, chambers, power equipment, cooling systems, sensors, high-speed video, thermal imaging, and data-acquisition systems. 

  • Lead test readiness reviews, job-hazard analyses, emergency planning, exclusion-zone definition, and coordination with EHS, facilities, fire-safety, and external laboratories. 

  • Execute testing safely, monitor tests in real time, respond to anomalies, and protect personnel, facilities, test assets, and data integrity. 

  • Analyze temperature, voltage, current, pressure, gas, flame, ejecta, and propagation behavior, as applicable to the test objective and facility capability. 

  • Author clear test plans, procedures, reports, nonconformance records, root-cause assessments, and design recommendations. 

  • Support model correlation and work with design engineers to improve containment, cooling, sensing, venting, and protection strategies. 

  • Manage external test laboratories, including statement-of-work development, setup reviews, witnessing, data acceptance, and issue resolution. 

  • Maintain calibrated instrumentation, safe lab practices, test configuration control, data traceability, and lessons learned. 

  • Support transportation and environmental compliance test programs, including UN 38.3 activities, when applicable to the product and program phase. 


Qualifications 
 
  • Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Aerospace, Electrical, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, or a related technical field. 

  • Three or more years of hands-on battery, environmental, abuse, reliability, or aerospace hardware testing experience. 

  • Experience designing instrumented tests and selecting thermocouples, voltage and current measurement, pressure sensing, thermal imaging, and data-acquisition hardware. 

  • Working knowledge of lithium-ion battery hazards, high-voltage safety, stored-energy hazards, fire risk, and safe test operations. 

  • Experience developing test fixtures, procedures, hazard controls, and technical reports. 

  • Ability to troubleshoot hardware, instrumentation, wiring, communications, and data-quality issues in the laboratory. 

  • Ability to work on-site and safely support physically hands-on test setup and execution. 


Preferred Qualifications 

 

  • Experience conducting or witnessing battery thermal-runaway, propagation, overcharge, external heating, short-circuit, crush, or penetration testing. 

  • Experience with environmental chambers, vibration systems, thermal cycling, altitude chambers, shock testing, and high-power battery pack cyclers (e.g., Chroma, etc.) or cell cyclers (e.g., Biologic, Arbin). 

  • Experience with electric aircraft, EV, UAV, aerospace, defense, or other safety-critical energy systems. 

  • Familiarity with UN 38.3 and relevant battery or aerospace environmental-test standards, with the judgment to confirm applicability before defining a compliance plan. 

  • Experience with LabVIEW, Python, MATLAB, Dewesoft, NI hardware, or comparable data-acquisition and analysis environments. 

  • Experience with fire-safe test cells, exhaust and gas handling, remote monitoring, blast or fragment protection, and emergency-response coordination. 

  • Experience managing outside laboratories and reviewing supplier test evidence. 


Ideal Candidate 

 

  • Has a strong laboratory and test-floor mindset and takes personal ownership of safe execution and high-quality data. 

  • Balances urgency with disciplined readiness reviews, hazard controls, and configuration management. 

  • Can move from requirement or failure concern to a practical test method, fixture, procedure, and evidence package. 

  • Communicates unexpected results quickly and objectively and helps the team turn failures into design learning. 


Attributes Aligned with Our Core Values
  • Safety Above All: Demonstrates a proactive safety mindset by embedding safety into daily work, identifying and mitigating risks, encouraging open dialogue about safety concerns, and continuously improving practices and protocols.
  • Customer Focus: Puts customers at the center of every action by understanding their challenges, delivering meaningful value, and supporting their success.
  • Work Better Together: Seeks and values diverse perspectives, builds cross-functional relationships, and fosters trust through empathetic, fact-based communication and commitment to shared decisions.
  • Be the Pilot: Drives results with clarity and purpose by focusing on what matters most, adapting to change, taking initiative, and owning outcomes.
  • Embrace the Unknown: Navigates ambiguity with resilience and bold thinking, challenges the status quo, and combines innovative ideas with practical approaches to overcome obstacles and drive progress.
  • Respect for People: Fosters a high-performance culture grounded in respect, professionalism, and support by balancing high expectations with a healthy, collaborative environment and being a trusted, dependable teammate.


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Applicants must be eligible for employment in the United States and willing to work onsite at our HQ office in Palo Alto, CA.

 

Pivotal offers a comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental, vision, and 401k plans.

 

Pivotal is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Pivotal does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, non-disqualifying physical or mental disability, national origin, veteran status or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit, and business need.