USD per year
Job Description for Staff Manufacturing Test Engineer at Archer:
Location: Santa Clara, California, United States About the role:
- Responsible for aircraft-level functional and end-of-line testing once the vehicle is fully built.
- Ensure each aircraft meets required performance, integration, and system-level standards before delivery or flight testing.
- Validate individual builds for system, software, electrical behavior, and overall functional readiness.
Responsibilities:
- Own end-to-end functional test strategy for aircraft systems across manufacturing from early builds to certified production.
- Drive cross-functional alignment between manufacturing, design engineering, flight test, and certification to define test requirements and coverage.
- Architect and scale automated manufacturing test solutions to improve quality, repeatability, and throughput.
- Lead execution of functional testing in lab environments and on aircraft supporting transitions from prototype to production lines.
- Define integration of functional test with manufacturing engineering systems, data infrastructure, and production workflows.
- Identify gaps, risks, and inefficiencies in test coverage and drive system-level solutions.
Requirements:
- Bachelor’s or advanced degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, Manufacturing Engineering or related field.
- 7+ years experience in aircraft systems or subsystem test engineering including ownership of test scope and strategy.
- Experience testing aircraft systems under 14 CFR Part 23/25/27/29 or equivalent regulatory frameworks.
- Strong background in electrical and software-driven testing (most mechanical systems are software-controlled).
- Experience designing or influencing data acquisition and test architectures (specific platforms not required).
- Scripting fluency (Python preferred) for automation, analysis, and test enablement.
- Ability to work effectively within existing manufacturing and test data ecosystems.
- Ability to read electrical schematics and interpret wiring, integration, and functional test results.
- Proven ability to communicate complex technical topics and influence across disciplines.
Bonus Qualifications:
- Led or contributed significantly to full aircraft type certification from program start through approval.
- Experience integrating test with enterprise systems such as SAP.
- Experience with Capital wiring harness software.
- Working knowledge of common aircraft communication standards (CANbus, RS-485/422, ARINC-429).
- Familiarity with Garmin avionics systems.
- Part 23 certification depth.
- eVTOL or advanced air mobility experience.
Additional Information:
- Base pay targeted between $151,680 - $189,600 depending on knowledge, skills, experience.
- Safety sensitive role requiring background check and drug screening.
- Commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion; reasonable accommodations available.
Note: This job description provides a general overview of the position; it is not exhaustive.
Archer is engineering the future of urban transportation with electric air taxis designed to provide safe, sustainable, low noise, and efficient travel above city traffic. Their aircraft, named Midnight, features all-electric tilt-propeller technology capable of carrying 4 passengers plus a pilot. Archer is working through certification with the FAA and other global aviation authorities to safely integrate their aircraft into airspace for passenger flights in major cities. They target 20-50 mile routes that typically take over an hour in traffic, aiming to reduce commute times to minutes.
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