Senior Safety Test Engineer

Proterra offers a dynamic and supportive workplace where our employees can thrive personally and professionally. With cutting-edge facilities and groundbreaking projects, Proterra offers unique opportunities to grow, collaborate, and lead transformative change in the electrification of heavy-duty transportation and equipment.

Our commitment to innovation extends beyond our battery solutions to our people, where we create an environment where everyone feels valued, supported, and empowered to drive change for the earth. Here at Proterra we strive to foster a culture of inclusivity, valuing diverse perspectives and encouraging bold ideas, allowing our employees to bring their full selves to work. Our employees benefit from competitive total rewards packages, and opportunities to develop professionally.

Position Overview:
This position as part of the Test Engineering organization will provide comprehensive test engineering support to Proterra’s Battery Engineering team and Proterra Technology Lab. You will be responsible for all aspects of safety and thermal abuse tests on high voltage battery packs, sub-systems, and components. Additionally, you will be responsible for the advancement of the Technology Lab testing capabilities.

About the Role – You will:

• Own the specifications, methodology, setup, execution, and reporting of electrical safety and thermal abuse tests on high voltage battery packs, sub-systems, and components.


• Adapt and develop test equipment for increased fidelity, repeatability, and new product requirements.


• Provide clear and concise documentation related to tests, including reports on parts under test and their status.


• Capture identified failures in detail and work with engineering to facilitate resolution.


• Take ownership of failure analysis process by providing detailed information surrounding failures in test articles.


• Design, implement, and document new test fixtures, data acquisition, and automation scripts.


• Build LabVIEW programs to log data, communicate with test articles, and process complex sets of data.


• Troubleshoot and debug issues with test equipment and drive corrective actions.


• Prioritize and complete tasks to meet deadlines.


• Provide design input to improve product safety, reliability, and performance when necessary.


• Interact with a wide variety of individuals and teams to communicate results.


• Create work instructions and best practices for other engineers and technicians to follow.


• Create and maintain test procedures and reports in cloud-bases systems such as Jira, Confluence, and Jama.


• Initiate and drive equipment and process improvements in the Proterra Technology Lab

Your Experience Includes:

• Bachelor’s degree in material science, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, mechatronics engineering, or equivalent experience.


• 5+ years of testing experience in the automotive or transportation industries, with at least 2 years testing high voltage energy storage systems.


• Experience in executing destructive safety and abuse tests.


• Experience with LabVIEW, data acquisition systems, digital and analog interfaces for PCs, test systems, etc.


• Experience with scripting languages such as python, MATLAB, C, VBA, etc.


• Experience with automotive CAN and J1939 communication networks.


• Experience in an R&D testing environment.


• Experience with test instrumentation and measurements (i.e., temperature, current, voltage, impedance, isolation, etc.).

Designed and assembled in the United States, Proterra’s innovative battery platform offers industry-leading energy density, durability, performance and safety systems – enabling Proterra EV batteries to be the premium choice for commercial vehicles and industrial equipment.

Proterra’s battery technology offers industry-leading energy density, safety systems, and durability. Proudly designed in Silicon Valley and assembled in Greer, South Carolina, Proterra® batteries are the premier choice to electrify commercial vehicles ranging from buses and trucks to construction equipment and more. Proterra is building innovative battery technology to power a better, more sustainable world.

Location: Burlingame
Travel: 0-10%
Compensation: $150,000 - $190,000 annual base salary