Test & Reliability Engineer

About Vital Lyfe

At Vital Lyfe, we are on a mission to solve global water scarcity by creating innovative, desalination systems. This is an opportunity to join a passionate, multidisciplinary team tackling one of the world’s most critical challenges

Mission

We're looking for a scrappy, hands-on Test & Reliability Engineer to own testing from prototype to production. You’ll be the last line of defense between the lab and the field, validating performance, identifying weak points, and pushing our system to failure so our customers never have to. You’ll be responsible for designing and executing tests, understanding the physics behind failures, and working closely with engineering, manufacturing, and ops to make the product better every week.

What You'll Do

- Own end-to-end validation of new hardware from pumps and sensors to pressure vessels and electronics

- Design and execute bench-level, environmental, and life-cycle tests

- Develop and run field simulations (saltwater, shock/vibe, temperature, abuse testing)

- Lead root-cause investigations of field issues and drive corrective actions

- Build test rigs (salt fog, temp/humidity cycling, etc.), break hardware, and feed that learning directly back into design

- Work closely with R&D and manufacturing to define design margins, quality standards, and pass/fail criteria

- Document tests, analyze results, and present findings across teams

What We're Looking For

- Bachelor’s degree in mechanical, electrical, or systems engineering (or equivalent hands-on experience)

- 2+ years of experience in hardware testing, validation, or reliability engineering

- Strong hands-on skills with hardware test setups, instrumentation, and data collection

- Experience with root cause analysis techniques (fishbone, 5 whys, etc.)

Preferred Qualifications

- Experience with high-pressure fluid systems, valves, seals, and pumps

- Familiarity with environmental testing (salt fog, temp/humidity cycling, etc.)

- Knowledge of reliability standards (e.g. HALT, HASS, Weibull analysis)

- Experience writing automated test scripts (Python preferred)

- Comfortable using hand tools, data loggers, and pressure transducers

- Strong communicator—able to summarize test findings clearly and drive cross-functional alignment

Physical Job Requirements - Essential Functions

- Hands on work on development hardware.

- Long periods of standing, crouching, walking.

- Lifting up to 50 lbs

Why Join Vital Lyfe?

- Work on high-impact problems with global relevance

- Help scale breakthrough technology in water security and climate resilience

- Early ownership in a high-growth, engineering-led startup

- Join a tight-knit, mission-driven team in a fast-paced environment

- Build long-term career equity as we grow