Test Engineer

About the role

Cowboy Space Corp. is building the infrastructure to power and connect the orbital economy. Our satellites operate in Low Earth Orbit to collect sunlight and enable a new class of capabilities—from powering on-orbit compute, to transmitting energy via infrared lasers (space-to-earth and space-to-space), to delivering secure, high-bandwidth optical data. By rethinking how energy and data are generated and distributed in space, we’re unlocking entirely new ways to operate both in orbit and on Earth.

Responsibilities

• Design and build fluid, mechanical, instrumentation, and control systems for component, engine, and stage-level test
• Own P&IDs and take fluid system designs from schematic through procurement, fabrication, and checkout
• Operate, maintain, and troubleshoot those systems once live, including the electrical and software side
• Safely operate high-pressure and cryogenic systems: LOX, LNG, high-pressure gas
• Write test procedures people can follow under pressure, then run them as test conductor
• Perform hazard analysis and set the safety controls, exclusion zones, and abort criteria for your setups
• Instrument tests so they answer the question: sensor selection, calibration, DAQ, and sample rates that survive the actual event
• Reduce and present test data, and drive anomalies to root cause rather than a retest
• Own your stand project schedules, especially the long-lead items nobody else is watching

Requirements

• 4-8 years of relevant test experience: propulsion, fluids, energetics, or industrial systems where a mistake had physical consequences
• First-principles depth in fluids, thermo, and structures, enough to reason about a system on a whiteboard before opening a tool
• Experience creating P&IDs and building the system they describe
• Experience integrating and troubleshooting mechanical and electronic systems together, because that's where the failures live
• Experience with high-pressure or hazardous environments, and the habits that come with it
• Experience writing and operating test procedures
• Enough software to be dangerous: data reduction, control sequences, scripting. Python preferred
• Self-direction: you'll often be the only person who knows the state of your system
• Strong writing. A procedure and a test report are both writing jobs
• Willingness to own large and small tasks alike, with a humble and positive attitude

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in mechanical or aerospace engineering, or similar

Skills

• Designing cryogenic fluid systems from scratch
• Hands-on liquid rocket engine hotfire experience, on the stand rather than adjacent to it
• LOX and methane or LNG specifics: cleanliness, materials compatibility, ignition
• Control system work: PLCs, sequencing, interlocks, valve and actuator selection
• Fabrication literacy (welding, machining, tube bending)
• Structural, proof, burst, or environmental test experience alongside propulsion

Benefits

• The salary range for this position is $130,000- 190,000 annually. The actual base salary offered will depend on factors such as job-related skills, experience, qualifications, and internal equity.
• Equity in Cowboy Space Corp.
• Employees and their eligible dependents may enroll in medical, dental, and vision insurance
• 401(k) retirement savings plan
• Paid time off
• 10 paid holidays per calendar year
• Paid parental leave
• Relocation assistance if applicable
• Daily lunch in the office and a fully stocked kitchen with beverages and snacks

Pay

The salary range for this position is $130,000- 190,000 annually. The actual base salary offered will depend on factors such as job-related skills, experience, qualifications, and internal equity.

Schedule

N/A