Manufacturing Test Engineer, Missiles

ABOUT THE TEAM

The Barracuda Manufacturing Team is responsible for rapidly iterating and building cutting-edge defense hardware for the Warfighter. This responsibility includes everything in the manufacturing value-chain, including, but not limited to, Design for Manufacturability work, tool design & selection, process creation & optimization, vendor sourcing & interaction, quality planning, and work documentation associated with the hardware that the Manufacturing Engineer owns.

ABOUT THE JOB
As a Manufacturing Test Engineer, you will design, build, and sustain the critical test infrastructure that qualifies high-reliability hardware for production. In this role, you will define the standards of how our hardware is validated, partnering directly with Reliability Engineers and Product Quality Engineers to gather requirements, establish pass/fail criteria, and refine test methods as products mature from early prototypes into full-rate production.
To ensure our hardware withstands the most demanding operating environments, every Manufacturing Test Engineer owns the complete lifecycle of test systems—from test planning, instrumentation selection, and test rack build-out to developing Python-based automation software running on Linux/Unix platforms. You will work across disciplines, leveraging tools like Altium and Siemens NX to design fixtures and interface boards, debugging serial and vehicle bus communications (UART, CAN, RS-485/RS-232), maintaining rigorous AS9100 quality standards, and leading aggressive root-cause investigations when test escapes occur.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Maintain ownership of manufacturing test infrastructure across the production lifecycle, ensuring station reliability, calibration, and line throughput
• Develop and maintain PLC-integrated station control software — commanding industrial controllers over Modbus TCP for rig actuation, interlocks, and sensor acquisition — and maintain the tag/address index as PLC programs evolve, including tooling that imports controller tag exports and validates them against the station's expected schema
• Build hardware-free simulation environments (containerized station images, virtual CAN replay, device simulators) so test software is developed and regression-tested without occupying hardware
• Gather requirements, author comprehensive test plans, and define parametric acceptance criteria in close partnership with Reliability Engineers and Product Quality Engineers
• Design, build, and integrate complete test stations, including instrumentation selection, custom test racks, cable harnesses, and mechanical fixtures
• Develop robust, automated test software in Python running on Linux/Unix operating systems to orchestrate test sequences, instruments, and hardware checkouts
• Interface test equipment with devices under test (DUTs) using embedded communication protocols including UART, CAN, and RS-485 / RS-232
• Configure, maintain, and debug Linux/Unix-based test stations utilizing terminal command-line utilities, SSH, and network configuration/diagnostic tools
• Collaborate on test fixture design and custom test PCBAs using Siemens NX (mechanical) and Altium Designer (electrical)
• Conduct rigorous root-cause analysis (RCCA) on hardware non-conformances, test failures, and test escapes to drive corrective actions back into design and assembly
• Ensure all test processes, station documentation, and calibration workflows adhere to AS9100 and related aerospace/defense quality standards
• Integrate test stations with Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) to maintain seamless serialization, test logs, and end-to-end component traceability
• Collaborate with hardware development engineers during NPI phases to drive Design for Testability (DFT) and optimize station cycle times

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field
• 3+ years of relevant industry experience as a Manufacturing Test Engineer, or in an equivalent hardware test development and production sustainment role
• Demonstrated hands-on experience designing physical test infrastructure, including test racks, power distribution, DAQs, and lab instrumentation (power supplies, DMMs, oscilloscopes, electronic loads)
• Proficiency writing automated test scripts and hardware control software in Python within a Linux/Unix environment
• Strong Linux/Unix systems knowledge, including terminal command-line proficiency, shell scripting, SSH, and network setup/debugging
• Hands-on experience interfacing with and debugging embedded hardware communication protocols: UART, CAN, and RS-485 / RS-232
• Experience using CAD/EDA tools—such as Siemens NX for mechanical/fixture review and Altium Designer for schematic and PCBA analysis
• Familiarity with AS9100, ISO 9001, or equivalent quality management system standards in a regulated manufacturing environment
• Strong root-cause corrective action (RCCA) skills to diagnose electrical/mechanical test escapes and hardware failures
• Eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Secret security clearance

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience designing custom bed-of-nails, functional test (FCT), or box-build test fixtures
• C Programming knowledge
• Experience with Environmental Stress Screening (ESS) test execution, including thermal chambers, vibration tables, and burn-in setups
• Familiarity with Nix or NixOS for managing deterministic test station dependencies and environments
• Experience with SQL for querying manufacturing databases and tracking station yield metrics
• Familiarity with contract manufacturing (CM) engagement and PCBA test methods (ICT, flying probe, boundary scan/JTAG)
• Active U.S. Secret or Top Secret security clearance