Principal Test Engineer

Principal Test Engineer

Norfolk

The Opportunity

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced Principal Test Engineer to take ownership of test engineering strategy, standards and technical governance within a manufacturing environment.

This is a senior technical role focused on expertise, influence and complex problem-solving rather than people management. You will act as the recognised Subject Matter Expert and technical authority for test engineering, providing direction across manufacturing, production, quality and design functions.

The successful candidate will play a key role in improving test capability, increasing equipment reliability, reducing production issues and developing robust, standardised test solutions.

Key Responsibilities

Technical Authority & Strategy

* Act as the technical authority for test engineering activities across the organisation.

* Define and own the test engineering strategy, standards and roadmap.

* Establish best-practice methodologies for test development, validation and deployment.

* Review, approve and govern test solutions and architectures.

Technical Expertise & Problem Solving

* Act as the escalation point for complex or critical test failures.

* Lead root cause analysis and corrective/preventive actions.

* Provide expert knowledge across automated test equipment (ATE), functional and end-of-line testing, instrumentation and measurement techniques.

* Resolve complex hardware/software interface issues.

* Support Design for Test (DFT) and New Product Introduction (NPI) activities.

Manufacturing & Operational Support

Work closely with Manufacturing and Production teams to improve:

* First Pass Yield (FPY)

* Test cycle times

* Equipment uptime and reliability

* Overall test efficiency

* Identify and eliminate recurring test issues and systemic weaknesses.

* Provide hands-on technical troubleshooting when required.

Continuous Improvement & Innovation

* Lead improvements across test processes, equipment and methodologies.

* Identify opportunities for automati...