Contractual Manufacturing Test Engineer Jobs in Reno, NV

Role Summary

At Amperesand, the Test Engineering leader owns the manufacturing test and product validation of our Solid State Transformer (SST). You will lead a team of technical experts who design, build, validate, and deploy the test systems that ensure our high-voltage power electronics hardware and firmware work flawlessly across prototype, pre-production, and volume production stages. You own the test system uptime, timely delivery, and the operational health of the test lab. You will partner closely with the program management team and cross-functional teams across EE design, ME design, and firmware to bring rigor, speed, and reliability to everything we ship.

Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and grow a team of test engineers responsible for manufacturing test and product validation of high-voltage power electronics products.
• Provide technical guidance and set direction on test architecture, methodology, and execution while empowering engineers to own their domains.
• Own the end-to-end strategy and execution for manufacturing test and product validation, including test coverage, accuracy, cycle time, cost, and scalability for volume production.
• Oversee the design, build, validation, and deployment of test systems for high-voltage, high-current power electronics, ensuring systems are delivered on time and meet performance targets.
• Ensure high test system uptime across prototype labs, pre-production, and manufacturing environments. Design a structure to drive rapid response and root-cause resolution when testers go down and establish preventive maintenance and reliability practices.
• Own the test lab - its layout, equipment, calibration cadence, safety standards, capacity planning, and day-to-day operations.
• Drive the definition of manufacturing test specifications for volume production, partnering with operations, design, quality, and reliability teams.
• Partner with the program management team to plan resources and align on milestones, dependencies, and deliverables across the broader engineering organization.
• Collaborate closely with EE design, ME design, and firmware teams to influence DFT, investigate failures, and drive product improvements from first principles.
• Drive continuous improvement of test efficiency, coverage, and automation - championing investments in tooling and automated test infrastructure that scale with volume.
• Establish frameworks for test requirements decomposition, acceptance criteria, and program execution that scale with the company.

Qualifications

• BS or MS in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field; advanced degree a plus.
• 10+ years of engineering experience in test engineering, validation, or power electronics hardware development, with at least 4 years in a people-leadership role managing technical teams.
• Strong hands-on background in test engineering for power electronics, including high-voltage, high-power conversion systems.
• Solid understanding of PCBA schematics, hardware debug, and the use of oscilloscopes, multimeters, power analyzers, and other lab instrumentation.
• Proven track record leading the design, build, and deployment of manufacturing test systems and product validation programs, ideally from prototype through volume production.
• Demonstrated success running and scaling a test lab, including managing uptime, calibration, safety, and capacity.
• Strong collaboration skills with cross-functional partners in EE design, ME design, firmware, manufacturing, and program management.
• Track record of hiring, developing, and retaining strong technical talent; able to provide credible technical guidance to senior and staff engineers.
• Ability to drive action grounded in first-principles thinking, with entrepreneurial ownership in a high-growth environment.
• Willingness to travel up to 10%, including internationally.

Please note: This role requires working on-site 5 days a week. We do not offer hybrid or remote options.

Pay Disclosure & Benefits Compensation will be determined based on experience, location, and other factors permitted by law.

Equal Employment Opportunity Amperesand is an equal opportunity employer and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local fair employment practices laws. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information or characteristics, physical or mental disability, marital/domestic partner status, age, military/veteran status, medical condition, or any other characteristic protected by law.