{"id":171622,"url":"https://alion.io/job/gridware-rd-test-engineer-instrumentation","title":"R&D Test Engineer, Instrumentation","company":{"id":173845,"name":"Gridware","domain":"gridware.io","url":"https://alion.io/company/gridware-2","size_band":"11-50","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Lever","truth_index":{"grade":"A","score":93,"open_postings":11,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":0.091,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":134,"computed_at":"2026-10-27T05:46:45Z"}},"role":"Industrial Engineering","role_family":"Industrial Engineering","seniority":"middle","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"hybrid","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["San Francisco, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":125000,"max":145000,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":145000},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":3,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-08-29T00:21:35Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-08-29","last_verified_at":"2026-10-27T15:31:08Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":59,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":0,"flags":[],"days_open":59},"description":"Role Description\nWe are seeking a curious, hands-on R&D Test Engineer with an instrumentation focus to join our Physical R&D team. You will own the test infrastructure our scientists depend on: designing and building fixtures, instrumenting test systems, developing data collection methods, running experiments, and turning one-off prototype setups into repeatable systems.\nOur scientists define what to investigate, and together you collaboratively define how; examples include fixturing, sensor selection, data acquisition, procedure, and controls. You will build the systems that make those tests possible, run the experiments, and ensure they produce trustworthy data. The work spans a wide range of environments, including our lab, warehouse, outdoor microgrid, and future pilot-scale settings, each requiring solutions tailored to the environment and test goals.\nYou will also be the person who makes test methods durable. When an experiment or test grows past an exploratory stage, you mature it through designing fixtureand sending updates, writing SOPs, or training others.\nThis role sits on the R&D team, which is responsible for the sensing and measurement performance of our devices rather than their design or implementation. It is not a reliability, qualification, or manufacturing test role. You will not own device design, though what you measure will regularly inform it.\nResponsibilities\nDevelop and improve existing prototype physical experimentation infrastructure. Design and build test fixtures, rigs, and setups in collaboration with R&D Technicians and Research Engineers. Translate guidance and test intent from Research Engineers into a physical setup that produces trustworthy data.\nArchitect, source, assemble, and operate electromechanical test setups end to end. Scope the build, select and procure components and instrumentation, manage vendors and machine shops, and get it working on the bench and at our test facilities.\nInstrument test articles and fixtures: select, mount, wire, and calibrate sensors (including strain gauges, load cells, accelerometers and IMUs, thermocouples, displacement and position sensors).\nSet up data acquisition systems using LabView that collects and parses data in a format readily ingestible by down stream data processing pipelines.\nRun experiments, with an emphasis on tests that are novel, ambiguous, or still changing shape as researchers continue to learn and gain valuable insights from the test infrastructure you create. Prepare equipment, execute the test, keep clean records, and deliver organized, well-labeled datasets.\nWork to improve repeatability via writing SOPs, setup and calibration procedures, and test reports. Train other teams and technicians to run mature test methods, and support the handoff until they are self-sufficient.\nPartner with research engineers to turn test intent into an executable plan - asking the questions needed to be confident the test will actually answer the question being asked.\nOwn our R&D lab and its equipment: fixtures, instrumentation, calibration status, consumables, and safe operation as well as plan and conduct preventative maintenance,\nRequired Skills\nBachelor’s degree in an engineering or related technical field, plus 3+ years of hands-on test, instrumentation, or lab engineering experience. Equivalent practical experience is also welcome.\nInstrumentation fundamentals: sensor selection, mounting and wiring, signal conditioning, calibration, and a working understanding of noise, grounding, sampling rate, and where measurement error comes from.\nElectronics bench work: soldering and harnessing, custom cabling, basic circuit troubleshooting.\nPractical shop skills: experienced with light power tools, basic fabrication and wiring and harnessing.\nTrack record designing and executing instrumented tests in an industrial or research setting.\nClear technical documentation: test plans, SOPs, and reports that someone else can follow without you in the room.\nComfortable working with researchers as we learn and adapt to new information: able to plan and execute good tests within a scientific framing that others own, and curious enough to ask the questions that keep the tests providing robust data.\nBonus Skills\nProficiency in LabView (writing data acquisition code, light automation and data processing) and NI hardware (cDAQ hardware, CompactRIO, high frequency modules)\nField and outdoor testing: experience running instrumented tests outside a controlled lab environment.\nTest measurement ownership: experience taking responsibility for measurement quality end to end - calibration traceability, verification, repeatability studies, and measurement uncertainty.","description_format":"text","description_chars":4697,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":3,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"bachelor","optional":false},"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":[],"hiring_locations":[{"name":"United States","iso":"US","kind":"country"}],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Sensors & Transducers","Power Grid"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-08-30T01:08:00Z"}],"visa":[],"liveness":{"score":72,"band":"hot","label":"Hiring now","p_open":1,"p_active":0.8,"p_room":0.9,"age_days":59,"expected_fill_days":134,"reasons":["conf:3","win:mid"],"computed_at":"2026-10-27T05:46:45Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":145000,"is_top_pay":true},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/gridware-rd-test-engineer-instrumentation","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/gridware-rd-test-engineer-instrumentation.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-27T17:45:40Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":7487,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-10-28T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":173845},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=173845"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fgridware-rd-test-engineer-instrumentation"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fgridware-rd-test-engineer-instrumentation"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fgridware-rd-test-engineer-instrumentation"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/gridware-rd-test-engineer-instrumentation\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fgridware-rd-test-engineer-instrumentation"}]}