Electrical Test Development Engineer

Sterling Engineering, Inc.

Austin, TX
2 days ago

Highlights

This engineer will focus on designing the testing portion of automated machinery used to test complete products, working closely with electrical, mechanical, controls, software, and manufacturing engineering teams. Experience testing electronic products is highly relevant, but the key requirement is the ability to design testing solutions for the “whole” product—not just the PCB or individual electronic components.

Numbers & Facts

Location	Austin, TX
Industry	Staffing/Employment Agencies
Company Size	500 to 999 employees
Year Founded	1969
Website	http://www.sterling-engineering.com

Description

ELECTRICAL TEST DEVELOPMENT ENGINEER

Job Overivew

We are seeking an Electrical Test Development Engineer to design, develop, and validate automated testing systems and tooling used in manufacturing environments. This engineer will focus on designing the testing portion of automated machinery used to test complete products, working closely with electrical, mechanical, controls, software, and manufacturing engineering teams.

The ideal candidate has hands-on experience designing automated test equipment (ATE) or functional test systems as part of automated production machinery. Experience testing electronic products is highly relevant, but the key requirement is the ability to design testing solutions for the “whole” product—not just the PCB or individual electronic components.

This position will be involved throughout the development process, from defining test requirements and designing test fixtures and electrical interfaces through validation, manufacturing deployment, troubleshooting, and continuous improvement.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and develop automated test systems and test tooling integrated into automated manufacturing machinery.

• Design the testing portion of automated equipment used to validate complete products and assemblies.

• Develop test strategies and validation plans based on product requirements, manufacturing requirements, and customer specifications.

• Design electrical interfaces, test fixtures, adapters, breakout boards, interface PCBs, signal conditioning, and other custom test hardware.

• Determine appropriate electrical connections, power delivery, communication interfaces, stimulation methods, measurement techniques, and data collection requirements.

• Collaborate with mechanical and automation engineers to design and integrate test tooling and fixtures into production machinery.

• Develop and validate automated functional test systems for new and existing products.

• Support Design for Testability (DFT) activities and recommend improvements to product test coverage, accessibility, and manufacturability.

• Select and integrate test instrumentation and measurement equipment, including oscilloscopes, digital multimeters, power supplies, signal generators, logic analyzers, and other automated test equipment.

• Develop automated test sequences and integrate test equipment, instruments, and communication protocols into manufacturing systems.

• Support prototype development, equipment bring-up, troubleshooting, debugging, and root-cause analysis.

• Lead design verification and validation activities to ensure test systems meet functional, quality, reliability, and manufacturing requirements.

• Support New Product Introduction (NPI), equipment qualification, manufacturing deployment, and production ramp activities.

• Troubleshoot test equipment and production issues and implement corrective actions and continuous improvements.

• Develop technical documentation, electrical schematics, wiring diagrams, test specifications, validation documentation, and troubleshooting procedures.

• Work closely with electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, controls, software, manufacturing, and production teams throughout development.

• Provide technical leadership on test development projects and communicate project status, risks, and technical issues to stakeholders.

• Train and provide technical support to manufacturing personnel, technicians, and engineering teams as needed.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related engineering discipline.

• 5+ years of engineering experience involving automated test equipment, functional test systems, test development, automation machinery, or a combination of these areas.

• Demonstrated experience designing automated testing for products on automated manufacturing machinery.

• Strong experience designing test systems for complete products or assemblies—not exclusively PCB-level testing.

• Experience taking automated test equipment from concept through design, validation, and production deployment.

• Strong electrical engineering fundamentals, including analog and digital circuitry, power electronics, electrical interfaces, and instrumentation.

• Experience designing or integrating test fixtures, test tooling, electrical interfaces, or custom test hardware.

• Ability to read and create electrical schematics, wiring diagrams, and technical documentation.

• Strong troubleshooting and root-cause analysis skills.

• Experience working cross-functionally with electrical, mechanical, controls, software, and manufacturing engineering teams.

• Ability to work hands-on in laboratory and manufacturing environments during equipment development and validation.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in high-volume manufacturing or OEM production environments.

• Experience developing automated functional test equipment for electronic or electromechanical products.

• Experience with automated machinery, production automation, or manufacturing equipment.

• Experience with NI TestStand, LabVIEW, Python, C, C#, or other test/automation programming platforms.

• Experience with MES, manufacturing data collection, product traceability, or automated test data systems.

• Experience with Design for Testability (DFT).

• Experience with communication protocols such as Ethernet/TCP-IP, CAN, RS-232/RS-485, USB, I²C, SPI, EtherCAT, or similar.

• Experience with PCB/interface board design or integration.

• Experience with environmental, electrical, functional, or other product-level testing.

• Experience supporting NPI and production ramp activities.

About Company

Sterling Engineering has been a trusted partner for engineering, project management, and staffing solutions for over five decades. We provide exceptional engineering/technical recruitment and engineering project services to clients nationwide:

Engineering & Technical Recruitment - With our focus on engineering, technical, and IT, Sterling has the in-depth knowledge, industry expertise, and robust employee pipeline it takes to rapidly find talent for even the most difficult to fill positions. Sterling’s extensive recruitment methodology allows us to engage the most talented employees in the marketplace. We offer exciting work and career-building opportunities for our candidates, along with expert support at every step of the process.

Engineering Project Services – Our experienced, multi-disciplined team of project managers, engineers, and designers, led by licensed Professional Engineers (PE), provide project management, engineering, design, and Commissioning, Qualification, and Validation (CQV) to manufacturing, OEM, and R&D customers. We work on complex, highly technical projects across a number of industry sectors, and our ability to scale and seamlessly integrate at multiple levels of your organization is what differentiates us.

Sterling offers a unique combination of engineering solutions and Best of Staffing level service to help our clients and talent achieve their goals.