Field Test Engineer Jobs in Raleigh, NC (NOW HIRING)

TRUEFIELD SYSTEMS LLC Chief Engineer  Full-Time  •  Early-Stage Startup  •  Field & Lab Environment   Reports To CEO / Co-Founder Location Raleigh area, NC Stage Early-stage. Harvester in planned development phase. First dedicated harvester engineering hire.  Compensation Competitive base salary and equity grant, commensurate with experience.   ABOUT TRUEFIELD TrueField is an agriculture company built for on-farm solutions designed to scale from small specialty operations to commercial production. The company's product strategy spans hardware, AI-assisted automation, and field management tools, with solutions developed to be relevant across a range of farm sizes rather than optimized for a single segment.  The initial product is a purpose-built pull-type small form harvester for specialty small grain and pulse crop producers. Target crops include soft wheat, malting barley, oats, rye, spelt, and cover crop seed alongside lentils, dry peas, chickpeas, and edible beans. This harvester is the first offering in TrueField's broader on-farm solutions portfolio.  The company is early-stage, founder-funded, with an experienced team that includes backgrounds in aerospace, precision agriculture, and AI systems. The Chief Engineer will be the first harvester-specific hire, with responsibility expected to extend to additional products as the portfolio develops.  THE ROLE The engineer in this role will build a team and lead all aspects of system architecture, mechanical, power system, sensors, and autonomy development for TrueField's harvester from prototype to production. As TrueField's on-farm solutions portfolio expands, this role is expected to grow in scope to encompass additional hardware products. The position spans design and fabrication work as well as hands-on field testing during harvest seasons.  PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES Threshing & Separation System Design Work with VP – Products to assess fundamental architectural choices and product-to-market fit of various trades. Lead the mechanical design of the threshing and separation system optimized for the full crop range. Settings must be tunable across this span without major mechanical reconfiguration. Develop variable-speed cylinder/rotor drive, fine adjustment concave geometry, and cleaning mechanism capable of achieving target grain loss and quality thresholds across both small grains and pulse crops. Design system to be operator adjustable and accessible from cab without stopping harvest, a non-negotiable requirement for single-operator field efficiency. Evaluate and specify threshing component materials and surface treatments for wear resistance across multi-crop duty cycles. Build and iterate on prototype sub-assemblies; conduct bench testing prior to field integration.  Sensor Integration & Machine-Embedded Data Collection Work with electrical engineering colleagues to mechanically integrate the grain loss vision system, grain tank camera, and tailings elevator camera into the harvester structure. Design mounting, vibration isolation, sealing, and field-service access for embedded sensor systems. All components must survive harvest season conditions without technician intervention. Collaborate on ISOBUS-compatible cab display and machine control integration; understand CAN bus architecture sufficiently to specify mounting and harness routing requirements. Instrument prototype machines for AI training data collection — concave load sensors, acoustic loss detection, ground speed, and loss imaging must generate synchronized, clean datasets from field harvests.  Field Testing & Validation Plan and execute seasonal field test programs across the full target crop range and focus regions, beginning in NC, VA, and the Mid-Atlantic (soft red winter wheat, edible beans, oats, rye), with subsequent expansion to the PNW (soft white wheat, barley, lentils, dry peas) and Northern Plains (spring wheat, durum, pulse crops). Define harvest performance KPIs (grain loss %, split rate, throughput, unload time) and collect structured data across field test events. Diagnose and root-cause field failures; translate field observations into design revisions with documented rationale. Support early adopter farm placements as the primary TrueField technical contact on-site during the first harvest seasons. Document machine settings, field conditions, and crop-specific performance data in formats that feed the AI training dataset and the operator settings baseline library.  QUALIFICATIONS Required B.S. or M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Agricultural Engineering, Biosystems Engineering, or closely related field. 5+ years of hands-on mechanical design experience in agricultural equipment, off-highway machinery, or rotating machinery — prior work on harvesters, combines, or threshing equipment strongly preferred. Demonstrated proficiency in 3D CAD (OnShape, SolidWorks, CATIA, or equivalent) and fabrication-aware design practice. Working knowledge of ASABE engineering standards applicable to harvesting equipment (ASABE S495.1 and related). Ability and willingness to work in field conditions during harvest season, including, variable weather and grain dust environments. Strong written and verbal communication skills — you will document design decisions, test results, and operator training materials independently. Demonstrated leadership of small teams and willingness to engage in a clean-sheet design with a new company that puts farmer needs first.  Preferred Direct hands-on experience with specialty small grain or pulse crop harvesting — wheat, barley, oats, rye, lentils, dry peas, or edible beans — either in equipment design or as a grower/operator. Experience across both crop categories is a strong differentiator. Familiarity with machine vision or sensor integration in agricultural settings. Experience with ISOBUS / ISO 11783 and CAN-based machine control architectures. Exposure to agricultural AI, precision agriculture systems, or edge computing hardware platforms. Background in grain quality assessment (loss metering, split/crack evaluation methodology).  ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY Chief Engineer should thrive in a lean, fast-moving organization; bring a high degree of autonomy, creative problem solving, and open communication to a role where priorities and approaches will evolve as the product develops.The harvester is TrueField's first product within a planned marketplace of on-farm solutions. The engineer in this role is expected to contribute to additional hardware products as the portfolio develops. TrueField's product strategy is designed to scale from small specialty farm operations through commercial production, which broadens the long-term engineering scope beyond the initial target segment. The company is headquartered in Oxford, NC with initial field testing conducted through established grower networks in NC and VA. The team combines defense engineering discipline, agricultural domain knowledge, and AI development capability. The Chief Engineer fills the core technical gap in that composition. The product addresses a documented gap in harvesting equipment availability for 50–500 acre specialty grain and pulse operations — a segment that has limited access to right-sized, modern equipment.  HOW TO APPLY Submit a resume and cover letter by using the Apply to this Position icon.Candidates without direct mechanical or agricultural equipment experience will not be considered.  TrueField Systems LLC is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.   TrueField Systems LLC is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities in our job application and interview process. If you require accommodation to participate in the hiring process, please contact us to make a request.