Director of Test Engineering

At Aircapture we’re creating technology to solve what we believe to be our lifetime’s most pressing challenge: the climate crisis. We supply commercial and industrial customers with clean CO₂ captured from our atmosphere to radically improve the environment, our economy, and our lives. We value building a team of people who represent diverse backgrounds—be it through education, gender, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation—to reach our goals. Thank you for considering us.You will lead the test and validation function that sits at the heart of Aircapture’s path from R&D to commercial technology. Owning system-level performance testing, you will define how we measure and understand our Direct Air Capture (DAC) systems, building a world-class quality and reliability capability. Performance understanding, repeatability, and reliability are not incidental concerns at Aircapture, they are central to how we learn, improve, and ultimately scale. If you are a hands-on technical leader who wants to build something lasting at a groundbreaking climate technology company, we want to hear from you.This role is onsite at our development and production facility in Berkeley, California.Salary: $190,000-205,000 per yearWhat You’ll Do HereOwn and operate test labs, developing data and reporting standards across test platformsLead and develop a high-performing test and reliability team, setting priorities, driving execution, and establishing best practices as Aircapture scalesDrive system-level testing of FOAK DAC prototypes, including design envelope and full performance characterizationDefine and own system performance metrics, partnering cross-functionally as the authority on system performance and data interpretationResponsible for data pipeline for test and operational data, from instrumentation to historian and analysisDesign and implement HALT/ALT testing of components and sub-systemsBuild Aircapture’s quality foundation including repeatability, FAT requirements, and scaling toward manufacturingDevelop data-driven reliability models, including degradation, design-life validation, predictive maintenance inputsTranslate test results into actionable feedback loops for design and operationsYour Skills and Experience IncludeBachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Physics, or a related field, Master’s preferred8+ years in test engineering, systems testing, or experimental R&D with end-to-end ownership of hardware test programsExperience managing and developing engineering teams, including hiring, mentoring, and driving performance in fast-paced, technical environmentsStrong physics-based understanding of thermofluid and electro-mechanical systemsProven ability to define meaningful performance metrics and build systems to measure themStrong instrumentation and Data Acquisition expertise, coupled with advanced analytical skills and ability to work closely with data engineeringBackground in quality/reliability systems, such as FAT, reliability testing, failure analysis, early-stage QMSSelf-directed and decisive in ambiguous environments; full ownership from scoping through deliveryExcellent cross-functional communicator; translates data into insight and pushes back when neededBonus: industrial or energy hardware, scaling test/quality functions, reliability engineering or predictive maintenanceAircapture strives to create a safe, inclusive, equitable, and diverse workplace. Every teammate adds to who we are, diversifying our ideas, experiences, and viewpoints and making us stronger. We hope you feel welcome here.