Principal Test Engineer

Role Summary

Principal Test Engineer to join the Zoetis team in Durham, NC. This role is focused on the development and validation of electro-mechanical devices for the animal health industry and is ideal for a hands-on engineer who can automate test systems through programming. You will work as an independent contributor, technical resource, and mentor, developing test hardware, supporting existing test systems, executing tests, and performing data analysis to drive product design improvements. The role collaborates across R&D, Quality Control, and Manufacturing and does not include formal supervisory responsibilities, but involves frequent collaboration and influence across project teams.

Responsibilities

• Design and execute reliability test programs including sample size calculations, accelerated life testing (ALT), and statistical validation plans that drive data-driven design decisions.
• Lead complex vibration testing projects while working directly alongside team members to troubleshoot instrumentation challenges, debug test setup issues, and solve measurement problems in real-time.
• Develop and optimize electro-mechanical test platforms by hands-on design of fixtures, sensor integration, and measurement systems, demonstrating best practices to team members during implementation.
• Automate repetitive test processes using LabVIEW, Python, or similar tools to improve efficiency while teaching programming fundamentals and automation techniques to colleagues.
• Drive effective collaboration across R&D project teams by serving as a key technical contributor who bridges engineering, biological sciences, manufacturing, and quality teams to ensure test strategies align with project goals and timelines.
• Mentor through direct collaboration on challenging technical problems, building team capabilities by working side-by-side on test system design, data analysis, and troubleshooting rather than just providing guidance.
• Perform advanced statistical analysis of test data using appropriate statistical methods, presenting clear findings and recommendations to engineering and cross-functional teams.
• Translate complex technical requirements from cross-functional stakeholders into practical, executable test approaches that support R&D project objectives.

Qualifications

• Required: BS in Engineering (preferred: Electrical, Mechanical, or Biomechanical) with 10+ years of test engineering experience in an electro-mechanical device development environment.
• Required: Statistical and reliability engineering: Strong capability in experimental design, sample size calculations, statistical analysis (means/variance, categorical, Gauge R&R), and reliability test methodologies (ALT, HALT, HASS).
• Required: Vibration testing expertise: Hands-on experience with accelerometers, modal analysis, frequency domain analysis, vibration instrumentation setup and troubleshooting.
• Required: Programming for test automation: Practical experience with LabVIEW, Python, or similar platforms to automate data collection and analysis (mastery not required, but must be comfortable learning and teaching others).
• Required: Hands-on test hardware development: Experience designing, building, and troubleshooting electro-mechanical test fixtures, sensor integration, and measurement systems.
• Preferred: MS in Engineering (preferred: Electrical, Mechanical, or Biomechanical) with 8+ years of test engineering experience in an electro-mechanical device development environment.
• Preferred: Statistical and reliability engineering: Strong capability in experimental design, sample size calculations, statistical analysis (means/variance, categorical, Gauge R&R), and reliability test methodologies (ALT, HALT, HASS).
• Preferred: Cross-functional collaboration: Proven ability to work effectively with diverse R&D teams (engineering, biology, manufacturing, quality) as a major technical contributor to complex projects.
• Preferred: Problem-solving and mentoring: Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively on technical challenges while teaching and developing others' capabilities.
• Preferred: Communication: Ability to present complex technical findings to diverse audiences and document test procedures clearly.
• Preferred: Experience with electrodynamic shaker systems (Sentek or similar).
• Preferred: Experience with National Instruments hardware and software ecosystem.
• Preferred: Familiarity with PLCs or embedded controllers for test automation.
• Preferred: CAD experience (SolidWorks) for fixture design.
• Preferred: ASQ reliability engineering certification (SSBB or similar).
• Preferred: Project management experience with Jira or other workflow tracking tools