Senior Test Technician

About Us

At Antares, our long-term mission is to make clean energy abundant from Earth to the Asteroid Belt. We’re fueled by the belief that advanced nuclear energy can strengthen our military, solve the climate crisis, elevate global living standards, and expand humanity's presence in outer space. To achieve our mission, we’re 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 Role

As a Senior Test Technician on the Antares team, you will work directly alongside Test Engineers to build, operate, instrument, and maintain test infrastructure for the R1 reactor. You will be responsible for assembling test stands, integrating sensors and data acquisition systems, wiring and plumbing test hardware, operating tests safely and accurately, and documenting results and issues.

This role is deeply hands-on. You will turn engineering concepts into physical test rigs, operate them during development and qualification testing, and feed back real-time observations to engineers to enable rapid iteration. You will be essential in ensuring data quality, test repeatability, and high operational uptime.

Roles and Responsibilities:

• Build, assemble, and maintain test rigs, fixtures, and support equipment for R1 components and subsystems

• Install and route instrumentation including thermocouples, pressure transducers, strain gauges, flow meters, relays, solenoid valves, and electrical wiring

• Set up and operate data acquisition systems, sensors, and control hardware

• Execute tests following established procedures and document conditions, results, anomalies, and operator observations

• Support the Test Engineer in developing test setups, executing test campaigns, and improving procedures

• Fabricate brackets, mount points, plumbing, wiring harnesses, and mechanical components (hands-on machining, hand tools, and light fabrication experience preferred)

• Maintain test areas, equipment, tools, and safety systems to ensure a clean and safe working environment

• Participate in troubleshooting of test stand issues including mechanical, electrical, and instrumentation problems

• Assist in root cause investigations by documenting failures, inspecting hardware, and gathering data for engineering review

• Maintain accurate records of test configurations, instrument calibrations, hardware changes, and run logs

• Support procurement, receiving, and organization of test components, sensors, and consumables

Basic Qualifications:

• HS Diploma or GED

• 5+ years of hands-on experience as a test technician, engineering technician, lab technician, or similar technical role

• Experience assembling mechanical systems, test fixtures, or prototype hardware

• Experience with instrumentation integration (thermocouples, pressure transducers, strain gauges, etc.)

• Familiarity with data acquisition systems and basic test software

• Ability to read engineering drawings, schematics, wiring diagrams, and work instructions

• Strong mechanical aptitude and experience with hand tools and shop tools

• Ability to work safely around high-energy systems, heavy equipment, and complex test setups

Preferred Skills & Experience:

• Experience building and operating test rigs in an R&D or prototype environment

• Experience with plumbing systems (tubing, valves, fittings, brazing, leak checking, etc.)

• Experience with electrical wiring, harness building, relays, and control panels

• Experience working with technicians and engineers to debug hardware and instrumentation

• Familiarity with inspection tools (calipers, micrometers, dial indicators, etc.)

• Experience using CAD or simple CAD viewers (for interpreting models and drawings)

• Experience working in a fast-paced hardware development environment

• Welding, machining, or fabrication experience

• Python or general scripting familiarity

Additional Requirements:

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

• Ability to lift 50 lbs