Production Test Center of Excellence (COE) Lead SME

Role overview

Lead the creation and growth of a production test center of excellence, setting technical direction for end-to-end test capabilities used with complex electronic and electromechanical products. The work spans customer consulting, solution architecture, business development, and delivery planning—from defining requirements and building test cells to deployment, validation, and long-term support.

Responsibilities

- Advise customers on production test strategies, operating models, requirements, specifications, and acceptance criteria. - Design test approaches and architectures for electrical, functional, environmental, and system-level testing, including workflows, sequencing, instrumentation, fixtures, automation, and data acquisition. - Guide automated test software, test executive applications, production data systems, validation, quality controls, and operational metrics. - Support troubleshooting, root-cause corrective actions, yield improvement, maintenance planning, and sustainment of deployed systems. - Shape customer opportunities and proposals, including statements of work, technical approaches, estimates, pricing, risk reviews, and delivery plans. - Advise leadership on team capabilities, suppliers, partnerships, and investments needed to expand production test services.

Requirements

- 20+ years in production or manufacturing test engineering, automated test equipment, test systems, or a related discipline. - Experience designing, implementing, and supporting production test environments for complex electronic or electromechanical products, such as avionics, communications, RF, sensors, or other mission-critical systems. - Broad knowledge of the production test lifecycle, from requirements and architecture through integration, automation, qualification, factory deployment, and sustainment. - Hands-on experience with test hardware and infrastructure, such as fixtures, instrumentation, switching, sensors, power systems, and data acquisition. - Experience with automated test software and production data collection, plus familiarity with manufacturing quality, statistical process control, Six Sigma, or continuous improvement. - Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. government security clearance; an active Secret clearance is preferred.

Benefits and work setup

The role is remote within the U.S., with frequent travel to customer locations and company sites, including Texas. The engagement is expected to be about 4–20 hours per week, with full-time engagement also possible. Compensation is listed as $100–$200, with the full package based on experience and certifications. Benefits described include a matched retirement plan, certification assistance, and advancement opportunities.