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Lead Test Technician

Impulse Space

USD 40-50 / hour + Equity

Posted on Dec 10, 2025

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As a Lead Test Technician at Impulse, you will oversee the Test Operations team that is responsible for executing a broad range of environmental, functional, and integrated tests that validate spacecraft hardware. This includes vacuum, vibration, pressure, thermal, HITL (hardware-in-the-loop), mechanism, and component-level propulsion testing. As a Lead Test Technician, you will serve as a technical leader on the floor—building test setups, running tests, unblocking the team, and shaping the standards and processes that keep our testing operations safe, efficient, and high-fidelity. This is a fully fledged lead role with significant room for continued growth.

Department: Assembly, Integration & Test
Employment Type: Full Time
Location: Redondo Beach
Workplace type: Onsite
Compensation: $40.00 - $50.00 / hour

Responsibilities

• Build, assemble, instrument, and check out test setups across vacuum, vibe, pressure, thermal, HITL, and mechanism environments, including occasional LN₂ and propulsion component testing

• Operate test equipment, integrate sensors/DAQ hardware, and troubleshoot mechanical, pneumatic, electrical-instrumentation, and system-level issues

• Act as the day-to-day technical lead: delegate work, balance team workload, make triage/priority calls, and serve as the first point of escalation for technical blockers

• Participate in design reviews and provide operational feedback on testability, integration, execution sequencing, and baseline safety

• Review and refine test procedures; contribute to clear, accurate documentation; and ensure test readiness across tooling, fixtures, instrumentation, and facility resources

• Train and mentor technicians across levels, develop structured training materials, and guide the team in building formal training content and shared standards

• Champion safe operations across pressure, vacuum, cryogenic, electrical-instrumentation, and mechanical systems while upholding high-quality build and execution standards

• Communicate status, risks, and needs clearly with engineering, program management, and leadership

Minimum Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalency certificate

• 5+ years of experience in aerospace, environmental testing, hardware integration, or similar hands-on test operations

• Experience building and checking out pressure, vacuum, or mechanical-fluid systems

• Strong proficiency with sensors, DAQ hardware, instrumentation, and system-level integration

• Demonstrated ability to read and interpret technical drawings, procedures, and test plans

• Hands-on experience troubleshooting mechanical, fluid, or electrical-instrumentation issues

• Strong communication skills and comfort coordinating with cross-functional engineering teams

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Experience with vacuum chambers, thermal systems, vibration tables, or HITL test architectures

• Familiarity with cryogenic fluids (e.g., LN₂) and associated safety practices

• Experience writing, reviewing, and maintaining test procedures and operational documentation

• Prior experience mentoring or training technicians

• Strong attention to detail and commitment to high-quality, safe work

• Operational understanding of sensor types used for pressure, temperature, load, and flow measurement

• Ability to identify process gaps and drive continuous improvement initiatives

Additional Information:

Compensation bands are determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data. Individual level and base pay is determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on job-related skills, education, experience, technical capabilities and internal equity. In addition to base salary, for full-time hires, you may also be eligible for long-term incentives, in the form of stock options, and access to medical, vision & dental coverage as well as access to a 401(k) retirement plan.

Impulse Space’s spacecraft manufacturing business is subject to U.S. export regulations including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and Export Administration Regulations (EAR). This position requires applicants to be either U.S. Persons (i.e., U.S. citizen, U.S. national, lawful permanent U.S. resident (green card holder), an individual granted asylum in the U.S., or an individual admitted in U.S. refugee status) or persons eligible to obtain an export license from the U.S. Departments of State, Commerce, or other applicable U.S. government agencies. Learn more about the ITAR here.

Impulse Space is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Impulse Space is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

About Impulse Space

Impulse Space, the in-space transportation company founded by Tom Mueller, is opening access beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO) with its fleet of in-space transportation vehicles. The high-energy Helios vehicle unlocks orbits beyond LEO with its powerful Deneb engine, dropping off payloads in MEO, GEO, heliocentric, lunar, and other planetary orbits. The flight-proven Mira vehicle uses a nontoxic, high-impulse chemical propulsion system to offer orbital transport, constellation deployment, and precision reentry services to customers throughout LEO. Led by a team that delivered the most reliable rockets in history, Impulse provides economical and efficient in-space transportation by reliably and rapidly getting customers where they want to go.

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Our Hiring Process

Stage 1:

Application Received

Stage 2:

Resume Review

Stage 3:

Intro Phone Interview

Stage 4:

Technical Phone Interview(s)

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