Test Engineer II

About Us

At Antares our long-term mission is to make clean energy abundant from Earth to the Asteroid Belt. Were fueled by the belief that advanced nuclear energy can strengthen our military solve the climate crisis elevate global living standards and expand humanitys presence in outer space. To achieve our mission were building mass-producible inherently safe deployable microreactors that can be used terrestrially underwater and in space.

Formed in 2023 the Antares team hails from SpaceX The White House MIT Rigetti Computing The Air Force General Atomics Relativity Space Ursa Major and National Laboratories like Los Alamos Idaho and Oak Ridge. Antares has raised over $130M in venture capital from top-tier investors and has over $13M in government funding.

About the Team

As a Test Engineer in Antares Test Engineering team you will design build and own test infrastructure for our R1 microreactor. You will develop end-to-end test plans - from concept to data analysis - for components and subsystems spanning heat rejection power distribution thermal management and mechanical systems.

You will help develop and document our testing best practices requirements and workflows to enable rapid iteration and high-quality data.

You will collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure that prototype development and qualification hardware is designed with respect to a test plan that validates critical features and performance parameters. You will design validate and maintain test setups to ensure the required precision and accuracy.

Roles and Responsibilities:

• Architect build and employ bespoke test stands and rigs for heat pipe components and assemblies

• Develop comprehensive test plans and protocols: instrumentation execution steps pass/fail criteria and data analysis workflows

• Build test schedules and ensure alignment with development and business needs

• Lead test design and readiness reviews and communicate approach and results with stakeholders

• Validate measurement precision and accuracy; procure or design specialized fixtures and sensors as needed

• Create schematics and CAD models of test setups and facilities

• Define standard processes and workflows for prototype qualification and production-grade testing

• Provide subject matter expertise on test methods including mentoring teammates

• Participate in root cause investigations and implement corrective actions to prevent repeat failure

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelors degree in physics or an engineering discipline

• 2 years of hands-on test engineering experience

• Experience designing assemblies and test fixtures using CAD

• Experience integrating and using test instrumentation (pressure transducers thermocouples strain gauges relays solenoid valves etc.)

Preferred Skills & Experience:

• Masters degree or higher in mechanical or aerospace engineering

• Experience designing and building test rigs and executing thermal and mechanical tests

• Experience with LabVIEW Simulink or similar test software

• Experience testing thermal management or heat-rejection systems or vacuum-relevant components

• Experience in mechanical durability or materials testing

• Leadership experience on a project or research team

• Strong project management and cross-disciplinary communication skills

• Demonstrated track record of high-impact technical contributions

• Experience with part inspection technologies (micrometers CMM white light scanning etc.)

• Knowledge of PLM ERP and related manufacturing systems

• Strong Python or general programming experience

Additional Requirements:

• Ability to work long hours and weekends as necessary to support critical milestones

• Ability to lift 25 lbs; role may require standing climbing bending grasping sitting pulling pushing stooping stretching and carrying

Location

• We are located in Torrance CA in a 322000 square foot brand new facility featuring large open spaces for team collaboration R&D and production as well as easy access to the 405 105 and 110 freeways. Our facility is in the heart of Los Angeles vibrant emerging tech ecosystem alongside many other high growth startups and enterprises.

Culture

At Antares we like to specifically tie each role to our founding documents set of valueshere are the top five cultural values we think you should believe at your core to be successful:

• Think in Systems - Energy and Defense are complex ecosystems with numerous stakeholders with competing priorities conflicting policies perverse incentives and emergent and path-dependent properties. First principles thinking alone is insufficient. Think probabilistically and then take action. If you want to be certain then you are apt to be obsolete. Over-optimizing the components often degrades the system

• Obsess over the End User - The customer and end user are often not the same. We will never build globally competitive commercial products if we lose sight of our end users and their entire interaction with the product life cycle

• Be Unconstrained by Convention - Our only limits are the laws of physics. Many even experts will say what we are working on is impossible. They said the same about SpaceX reusing rockets. Generationally impactful companies by definition must accomplish the seemingly impossible. If it were easy it would have already been done. Never shy away from a solution because it has never been tried before and never choose to do something because thats how its always been done

• Go Where the Work Is - Never miss a chance to meet a customer user or stakeholder face to face even if that means hopping on a plane. If you cant make it find a teammate who can channel your intentions and go in your place. Deep work can be done from anywhere but we believe teams are built in person and aim to maximize our time together

• Operate in the Grey - Embrace nuance in pursuit of truth. Question every fundamental assumption

Equal Opportunity

Antares is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are based solely on merit competence and qualifications without regard to race color religion gender national origin/ethnicity veteran status disability status age sexual orientation gender identity marital status mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

To conform to U.S. Government export regulations applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national (ii) U.S. lawful permanent resident (aka green card holder) (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. 1157 or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. 1158 or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.

Required Experience:

IC