Staff Test Engineer

About Estes Energy:
Estes develops and manufactures exceptional zero-emission power systems that unlock true scale and performance for the electrification of the commercial vehicle and equipment markets. Estes will democratize electrification by enabling powertrain solutions at better cost and performance than diesel solutions, for both high-volume established OEMs making thousands of vehicles per year, and industry newcomers making next generation electrified vehicles and equipment.

Here’s the ugly truth. Approximately 3.9 million barrels of diesel fuel (equal to 5.8 Terawatt-hours of energy) are consumed every day across the United States, mostly by commercial vehicles and equipment. That’s 1.66 megatonnes of CO2 GHG emissions every day. That’s 353 kilotonnes of NOx and 9.92 kilotonnes of SOx gases emitted, poisoning our people and planet, every day. We exist to move the needle on transitioning a century old diesel burning industry to electric.


What are our principles to solve this problem? Simple.

1. Start with People

• A company can only be as good as its people.
• Generate a gravity well to attract the people of the best character and competence.
• Foster an incredible culture where the best people work together to solve deeply meaningful problems.

2. Drive solutions from first principles with a 3rd generation approach

• Architect and engineer systems to make a simple, reliable, and cost-competitive product.
• Liberate lightweight and low or zero carbon footprint materials that can be used in automotive-grade processes at scale.
• Solve the battery cell multi-chemistry problem to serve both mass-sensitive and cost-sensitive commercial markets.

3. Make things. Here.

• Raw material in. Product out. In the United States.
• Put the right atoms together - at scale - in a cost-efficient manner.
• Partner with the best technology partners. Cells. Electronics. Materials. We will innovate together and share success with those who dare to be bold with us.

Staff Test Engineer

The Impact You’ll Make / About the Role: As our first dedicated Test Engineer, you will architect, build, and lead all aspects of product testing – from equipment selection to data-driven design feedback – laying the foundation of a world-class validation organization. This highly visible and impactful role requires a hands-on engineer eager to establish our lab infrastructure, develop robust test methodologies from the ground up, and drive the rigorous validation of our high-voltage battery packs. You will play a critical role in ensuring the safety, performance, and reliability of our products from early concept through launch and beyond, with significant opportunity for professional growth and future team leadership.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lab Build-Out & Operations: Lead the strategic development, procurement, installation, and commissioning of critical test equipment (e.g., battery cyclers, environmental chambers, vibration tables, DAQs, safety systems) to establish and optimize our existing lab infrastructure.
• Test System Development: Design, fabricate, instrument, and automate sophisticated test setups, fixtures, and harnesses to reproduce mechanical, thermal, and electrical stresses at cell, module, and pack levels.
• Test Planning & Execution: Develop and execute comprehensive mechanical, thermal, and electrical test plans (DV/PV plans) and procedures. Instrument test articles, run experiments, and ensure documentation and execution adhere to internal, industry, and automotive standards
• Analysis & Troubleshooting: Reduce large data sets, analyze complex test data, identify failure modes, drive root-cause analysis with design, manufacturing, and reliability engineers, and present clear, actionable insights and recommend design or process changes.
• Automation & Instrumentation: Implement robust data acquisition systems and develop automation frameworks for efficient test execution, data collection, and analysis
• Safety & Compliance: Champion and enforce rigorous safety protocols for high-voltage lithium-ion testing environments, writing SOPs and training teammates to ensure all testing adheres to relevant industry best practices.
• Team Growth & Mentorship: As the first Test Engineer, you will contribute to building our future test team, including defining hiring needs, recruiting, mentoring, and potentially managing test technicians as we scale.

What You Bring (Qualifications):

• B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Systems Engineering, or a closely related engineering field (M.S. a plus).
• 4-8 years of hands-on experience in hardware validation and reliability testing, ideally with high-voltage battery systems, power electronics, or comparable electro-mechanical/e-mobility systems.
• Strong fundamentals in statics, mechanics of materials, fluids, heat transfer, measurement and instrumentation, and linear circuits.
• Proficiency in an object-oriented programming language (e.g., Python, MATLAB) for test automation, data analysis, and equipment control.
• Experience with 3D CAD software for fixture design and mechanical structures.
• Demonstrated ability to set up, operate, and troubleshoot test equipment (e.g., DAQs, oscilloscopes, power supplies, environmental chambers, battery cyclers).
• Ability to translate ambiguous requirements into clear test plans and concise technical reports.
• Demonstrated leadership of technicians or junior engineers; collaborative, low-ego, “no-job-too-small” attitude suited to an early-stage startup.
• Unwavering commitment to HV safety practices and safe working environments.

Working at Estes: Our Core Tenets

We are a small, deeply technical team with ambitious goals.

At Estes, we operate with shared values and virtues that set our culture.

Reason from First Principles

• We don’t solely rely on precedent, anecdotes — we ask “why,” challenge assumptions, and get to the root of every problem before building up from fundamentals.

Only Data Can Save Us

• We prioritize experimentation over speculation. We build orthogonal approaches towards data test hypotheses, and we deeply care about data integrity. This is what separates data from lore.

Take Deep Ownership and Excel at Your Craft

• You are never on an island, we work for each other, and together. Along with that, every team member is empowered and expected to own and lead. We take full ownership of our domains and continuously refine our skills with intellectual honesty and humility. 

Design for Cost and Scale at Every Stage

• Whether we’re building a prototype or defining a spec, we’re always asking: How will this scale? How does it become affordable?

Operate with Good Faith and Accountability

• We trust each other’s intent and integrity. We challenge directly, support wholeheartedly, and hold ourselves and each other to high standards.

This is a full-time role with a base salary of $150,000–$180,000 and meaningful equity participation. Compensation is tailored to experience and role scope. Benefits include health, dental, vision, and a 401(k).