Environmental Test Technician

About You and The Role

Have you ever had the experience of buying a product and having it break or become defective out of the box quickly and vow you never want to experience that again? If yes, this could be the position for you! As a critical member of the Structural Testing team, you will be part of our mission to make sure that experience is never had by the doctors who rely on us every day. In this role, you will split your time across two essential functions within our R&D test facilities: maintaining and supporting 30+ environmental test chambers used in engineering validation, and executing dynamic and vibration tests across our test assets. You will partner closely with design and reliability teams, providing testing support to increase the speed at which they can produce high-quality designs.

What You'll Do

Environmental Chambers & R&D Test Support:

• Maintain 30+ environmental test chambers used in R&D testing.
• Perform installation, maintenance, troubleshooting, and repairs for a mix of R&D environmental test chamber systems (Espec, Test Equity, Q-Lab).
• Schedule and conduct preventative maintenance including cleaning, consumables, inspections, and performance testing toward maximizing equipment uptime.
• Assist staff with delivery drone R&D environmental test setups, train users on equipment programming, and uphold continuous operation of the equipment.
• Diagnose and repair mechanical, electrical, and water supply systems.
• Interpret PLC ladder logic, schematics, blueprints, and mechanical diagrams.
• Order, inventory, and manage spare parts, materials, and equipment.
• Coordinate and oversee 3rd-party contractors performing maintenance or repairs.
• Provide on-call response to emergencies according to criticality on a rotating basis with other technicians on the team.

Structural & Vibration Testing:

• Support the vibration lab, including electrodynamic shakers, HALT chambers, and other test systems.
• Execute test plans and develop fixtures for dynamic testing.
• Create test setups to match engineering specifications, which includes interpretation of test procedures and diagrams, instrumentation, data acquisition, test article diagnostics, and front-line root causing.
• Instrument test assets, collect periodic data, and validate lab tests by comparing results
  with real flight data.
• Perform first-pass data analysis, lead root-causing efforts, and write detailed reports driving to root cause using data and first-order analysis to inform design recommendations.
• Partner with Test Technicians and Engineers across diverse test campaigns, including on-site support at flight test locations.

What You'll Bring

• Hands-on experience operating, maintaining, or troubleshooting mechanical, electrical, or lab test equipment.
• Ability to interpret PLC ladder logic, electrical specifications, schematics, blueprints, and mechanical drawings.
• Experience working on hardware/software projects and collaborating with hardware engineers.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with strong attention to detail.
• Ability to organize data in a way that is easy to understand and present facts clearly.
• Hands-on experience in a machine shop, with proficiency in operating common mechanical equipment.
• Preferred (but not required): Prior experience with HVAC/refrigeration systems, data acquisition systems (DAQs), sensors, instrumentation, or vibration controllers.
• Physical ability to climb ladders, lift equipment, and work in confined spaces.
• Flexibility to participate in a rotating on-call schedule and support shifting lab test priorities.

What Else You Need To Know

Zipline is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws or our own sensibilities.

We value diversity at Zipline and welcome applications from those who are traditionally underrepresented in tech. If you like the sound of this position but are not sure if you are the perfect fit, please apply!