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Test Engineer (Actuators/Mechanical Systems)

Joby Aviation

Santa Cruz, CAJob$90–144K/yrPosted 2w agoStill listed 5 days ago

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At a glance

Compensation
$90–144K/yr
Location
Santa Cruz, CA
Work Authorization
Not specified

Olive lists jobs from US employers, including remote roles you can work from the United States.

Job overview

Joby Aviation seeks a Test Engineer to perform validation and verification testing of flight-critical components and subsystems for VTOL electric aircraft. The role develops representative tests and analyzes results to inform hardware design and production readiness. The engineer collaborates across engineering teams, manages testing project status and hardware needs, and helps improve team productivity.

Skills & qualifications

RequiredNice to have

Skills

Laboratory Hardware TestingElectromechanical SystemsRoboticsServo ActuationVerification and Validation TestingHands-on TestingTest HardwareData Acquisition SystemsLabVIEWDIAdemMATLABMechanical DesignCADManufacturing Drawing CreationAnalytical ThinkingProblem SolvingInterpersonal SkillsCommunicationIndustrial Test Laboratory ProceduresHigh-Voltage SystemsProject ManagementCATIAGenerative Shape DesignPart DesignAssembly DesignMachine Shop SkillsLatheMillWeldingFabrication EquipmentAircraft HomebuildingRapid PrototypingFAA Certification Processes

Qualifications

Bachelor's Degree or Advanced Degree or Equivalent Work Experience2 Years of ExperienceRelevant University Project Experience

Benefits

Paid Time Off
Medical Insurance
401(k) Match

Full job description

Company Overview

Imagine a piloted air taxi that takes off vertically, then quietly carries you and your fellow passengers over the congested city streets below, enabling you to spend more time with the people and places that matter most. Since 2009, our team has worked steadily to make this dream a reality. We’ve designed and tested many generations of prototype aircraft capable of serving in a network of electric air taxis. We’re looking for talented, committed individuals to join our team as we push onward toward certifying the Joby aircraft, scaling our manufacturing, and launching our initial commercial service.

Overview

Joby Aviation is seeking a highly organized, passionate individual to join our Testing Team. As part of this team, you will perform validation and verification testing of flight-critical components and sub-systems for VTOL electric aircraft. The data collected during these tests will inform the company’s hardware design efforts and pave the way to production ready hardware.

Responsibilities

  • Create, and mentor others in the creation of, test setups for validation and verification of aircraft hardware

  • Work closely with the Airframe and Actuators, Propulsion and Avionics, and Software teams to capture the nuances of components, system architectures, and operating conditions to build representative tests

  • Develop formal test plans, test procedures, instrumentation plans, test stand/fixture designs, data acquisition architectures, and necessary tools for thorough and repeatable testing

  • Analyze data collected during testing to generate reports providing quantifiable feedback to engineering teams for hardware optimization

  • Manage project status and timelines for the Testing Team and collaborate with Team Leads to ensure proper resource allocation to de-risk critical paths

  • Create and implement tools to maximize Testing Team productivity

  • Manage hardware needs for the Testing Team and provide recommendations for investment

Required

  • Bachelor’s degree + 2 years of experience, or Advanced degree with relevant university project experience (or equivalent work experience)

  • Experience with hardware testing in a laboratory environment

  • Electromechanical or robotics experience, with familiarity in servo actuation concepts

  • Experience performing verification and validation testing of mechanical and electromechanical systems

  • Ability to perform hands-on testing, including setting up and executing tests with test hardware and data acquisition systems

  • Proficiency in using LabVIEW for data collection and DIAdem or MATLAB for data processing

  • Experience with mechanical design, Computer-Aided Design (CAD), and manufacturing drawing creation

  • Strong analytical background with excellent problem-solving, interpersonal, and communication skills

Desired

  • Experience with industrial test laboratory environments and procedures

  • Experience with high-voltage systems

  • Project management experience

  • Experience with Dassault Systèmes CATIA (specifically Generative Shape Design, Part Design, and Assembly Design)

  • Hands-on machine shop skills using a lathe, mill, welder, and other fabrication equipment

  • Aircraft homebuilding or rapid prototyping experience

  • Familiarity with aircraft FAA certification processes

Additional Information

Compensation at Joby is a combination of base pay and Restricted Stock Units (RSUs). The target base pay for this position is $90,100 - $143,500/yr. The compensation package will be determined by job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.

Joby also offers a comprehensive benefits package, including paid time off, healthcare benefits, a 401(k) plan with a company match, an employee stock purchase plan (ESPP), short-term and long-term disability coverage, life insurance, and more.

Joby is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

How this job compares

Set against the 3,103 open Test Engineer jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 4, 2026.

Pay
  • This posting$90–144K/yr
  • California median$125–179K/yr659 salary ranges
  • US median$102–161K/yr2,075 salary ranges

This range's midpoint, $117K, is 24% below the California median midpoint ($154K) — in the lowest quarter of Test Engineer salary ranges in California.

Openings
Olive Jobs lists 823 open Test Engineer jobs in California and 3,103 across the US. 2% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
Hiring the most in California
Experience
This posting asks for at least 2 years of experience; Test Engineer postings that state a minimum ask for 5 years at the median (2,603 postings).
Education
1,685 of the 3,103 open Test Engineer jobs (54%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.

Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on November 4, 2026. Pay medians are the middle values of the low ends and of the high ends of postings that list both ends of a range in the same cadence (a yearly salary or an hourly rate); a range's midpoint is halfway between its ends. Pay and experience figures resting on fewer than 20 postings are left out.

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