Manufacturing Test Engineer

Headquartered in Silicon Valley, California, Archer is a leader in the next-gen aerospace sector building an end-to-end advanced air mobility platform that delivers air taxis, unmanned aircraft systems (“UAS”), aviation-related physical artificial intelligence (“AI”) solutions, and other technologies to customers worldwide across the commercial aerospace and defense sectors.

Our sights are set high and our problems are hard, and we believe that diversity in the workplace is what makes us smarter, drives better insights, and will ultimately lift us all to success. We are dedicated to cultivating an equitable and inclusive environment that embraces our differences, and supports and celebrates all of our team members.

About the role:

This role sits within Manufacturing Engineering and is responsible for aircraft-level functional and end-of-line testing as each vehicle is manufactured. You will help ensure each aircraft meets required performance, integration, and system-level standards before delivery or progression into flight testing.

You’ll focus on validating that each individual build behaves as intended—verifying systems, software, electrical behavior, and overall functional readiness—while supporting the transition from prototype to production.

What you’ll do: 

• Own the end-to-end functional test strategy for aircraft systems across manufacturing, from early builds through certified production
• Drive cross-functional alignment between manufacturing, design engineering, flight test, and certification to define test requirements and coverage
• Architect and scale automated manufacturing test solutions to improve quality, repeatability, and throughput
• Lead execution of functional testing in lab environments and on aircraft, supporting fast-paced transitions from prototype to production lines
• Define how functional test integrates with Archer’s manufacturing engineering systems, data infrastructure, and production workflows
• Identify gaps, risks, and inefficiencies in test coverage and proactively drive solutions at the system level

What you need:

• Bachelor’s or advanced degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, Manufacturing Engineering, or a related field
• 7+ years of experience in aircraft systems or subsystem test engineering, including ownership of test scope and strategy
• Experience testing aircraft systems developed under 14 CFR Part 23/25/27/29 or equivalent regulatory frameworks
• Strong background in electrical and software-driven testing (most mechanical systems are software-controlled)
• Experience designing or influencing data acquisition and test architectures (specific platforms not required)