Calibration Operations and Triage Specialist

The Calibration operations and triage engineer owns the planning, scheduling, and process discipline that keeps powertrain dyno and vehicle testing running on schedule. The role is the single point of coordination between calibration and development engineers, instrumentation and fabrication technicians, and test cell operations - translating engineering requests into executable work orders, confirming test readiness before every build and test event, and resolving the hardware, instrumentation, and scheduling issues that would otherwise stall a program.

This is a hands-on operations and process role rather than a design role. Success is measured in schedule adherence, test cell utilization, readiness at test start, and the speed with which issues are surfaced, root-caused, and permanently closed out.

Key Responsibilities:

Work Order Management

• Create and issue work orders for all testing, instrumentation, hardware retrofit, and calibration activities within one business day of receiving an engineering request.

• Ensure every work order carries complete scope, priority level, assigned resource, and estimated duration, and is logged in the designated tracking system.

• Return incomplete or ambiguous requests for clarification within four business hours and manage the request queue, including end-of-day cutoff handling.

• Serve as the initiation and tracking point for all downstream test, build, and calibration activity.

Process Standardization

• Develop and maintain a best practices playbook covering new program onboarding and new hardware integration; issue an initial release and update it quarterly.

• Write and validate standardized troubleshooting procedures and checklists for recurring failure modes, targeting measurable reduction in repeat diagnostic time.

• Build and maintain process maps (SIPOC or swim-lane format) for instrumentation setup, hardware retrofits, and calibration updates; secure process owner approval and keep documentation version-controlled in a shared repository.

Test Readiness Management

• Publish a weekly test readiness status report (build tracker) covering instrumentation, hardware, and calibration status for every scheduled test event, using red/yellow/green status with action items and owners for all non-green items.

• Maintain a live hardware retrofit and calibration update tracker showing description, owner, due date, status, and completion evidence; publish a weekly summary.

• Deliver instrumentation and fabrication build plans at least ten business days ahead of build start, including complete BOM, sensor list, wiring routing, installation schedule, and technician assignments.

Scheduling & Resource Tracking

• Own the dyno and vehicle testing schedule dashboard, showing planned versus actual execution and a rolling two-week look-ahead accessible to all stakeholders.

• Produce a monthly resource demand and capacity report with a four-week look-ahead, identified bottlenecks, and actionable recommendations with assigned owners.

• Publish weekly schedule variance and risk reporting; escalate newly identified risks within 24 hours with root cause, impact assessment, and a corrective action plan.

• Balance test cell loading across programs to protect utilization targets while meeting program milestone dates.

Root Cause Analysis & Continuous Improvement

• Lead formal root cause analysis for qualifying events - instrumentation failures causing two or more hours of unplanned downtime, unplanned test cell shutdowns, missed milestones or test windows, and failure modes recurring twice within 30 days.

• Issue preliminary RCA within two business days and final RCA within ten, using 5-Why or Ishikawa methodology with documented root cause, corrective and preventive actions, and owner assignments.

• Drive at least two implemented continuous improvement initiatives per quarter, each with a baseline metric, implementation plan, projected benefit, and post-implementation validation.

• Maintain a searchable lessons learned register categorized by system, failure type, and program, updated within five business days of each RCA closure.

Cross-Functional Collaboration & Technical Support

• Maintain an issue and roadblock resolution log; acknowledge new items within four business hours and publish a resolution plan within one business day.

• Provide on-demand technical support for instrumentation, calibration tools, and test systems against the severity-based service levels below.

• Manage escalations end to end - initial escalation within four hours of identification and a summary report within two business days of resolution, covering timeline, stakeholders engaged, resolution actions, root cause, and preventive measures.

• Act as the primary liaison between calibration engineering, instrumentation and fabrication, test cell operations, and program management.

Core Competencies

• Ownership and follow-through - Follows through relentlessly on commitments and holds others to dates without damaging working relationships.

• Process discipline - Builds durable processes rather than one-off fixes; documents what works so it survives turnover.

• Proactive risk identification - Anticipates readiness gaps and resource conflicts before they become schedule impacts.

• Cross-functional influence - Operates credibly with engineers, technicians, planners, and program leadership.

• Analytical rigor - Treats every downtime event as a data point and closes the loop permanently.

• Composure under changing priorities - Reprioritizes cleanly when programs shift, without losing track of open items.

Working Conditions

• Split between office and active test cell / laboratory environments; exposure to noise, heat, fuel, and rotating machinery with required PPE.

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of technical education or a related degree.
• 5+ years of experience in test operations, laboratory or test cell coordination, manufacturing/engineering scheduling, or technical program support.
• Working knowledge of engine or vehicle test facilities, including dynamometer operation, instrumentation, and data acquisition systems.
• Demonstrated experience building and maintaining schedules, trackers, and status reporting for multiple concurrent programs.
• Practical command of structured problem-solving methods (5-Why, Ishikawa/fishbone, 8D) with a record of closing corrective actions.
• Strong proficiency with Microsoft Excel and scheduling tools (MS Project or equivalent); comfort building dashboards and status visuals.
• Excellent written and verbal communication - able to brief engineers, technicians, and leadership with equal clarity.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in automotive powertrain development, calibration, or emissions testing.
• Familiarity with instrumentation and fabrication workflows - sensor selection, wiring harness routing, and build BOM development.
• Exposure to calibration toolchains and measurement software (for example INCA, CANape, or equivalent) and to ECU development programs.
• Lean, Six Sigma (Green Belt or higher), or equivalent process improvement certification.
• Experience with work order or maintenance management systems and with visualization/reporting tools (Power BI, Tableau, or similar).
• Prior responsibility for SLA-governed service delivery or contract deliverable management.

The Calibration operations and triage engineer owns the planning, scheduling, and process discipline that keeps powertrain dyno and vehicle testing running on schedule. The role is the single point of coordination between calibration and development engineers, instrumentation and fabrication technicians, and test cell operations - translating engineering requests into executable work orders, confirming test readiness before every build and test event, and resolving the hardware, instrumentation, and scheduling issues that would otherwise stall a program.

This is a hands-on operations and process role rather than a design role. Success is measured in schedule adherence, test cell utilization, readiness at test start, and the speed with which issues are surfaced, root-caused, and permanently closed out.

Key Responsibilities:

Work Order Management

• Create and issue work orders for all testing, instrumentation, hardware retrofit, and calibration activities within one business day of receiving an engineering request.

• Ensure every work order carries complete scope, priority level, assigned resource, and estimated duration, and is logged in the designated tracking system.

• Return incomplete or ambiguous requests for clarification within four business hours and manage the request queue, including end-of-day cutoff handling.

• Serve as the initiation and tracking point for all downstream test, build, and calibration activity.

Process Standardization

• Develop and maintain a best practices playbook covering new program onboarding and new hardware integration; issue an initial release and update it quarterly.

• Write and validate standardized troubleshooting procedures and checklists for recurring failure modes, targeting measurable reduction in repeat diagnostic time.

• Build and maintain process maps (SIPOC or swim-lane format) for instrumentation setup, hardware retrofits, and calibration updates; secure process owner approval and keep documentation version-controlled in a shared repository.

Test Readiness Management

• Publish a weekly test readiness status report (build tracker) covering instrumentation, hardware, and calibration status for every scheduled test event, using red/yellow/green status with action items and owners for all non-green items.

• Maintain a live hardware retrofit and calibration update tracker showing description, owner, due date, status, and completion evidence; publish a weekly summary.

• Deliver instrumentation and fabrication build plans at least ten business days ahead of build start, including complete BOM, sensor list, wiring routing, installation schedule, and technician assignments.

Scheduling & Resource Tracking

• Own the dyno and vehicle testing schedule dashboard, showing planned versus actual execution and a rolling two-week look-ahead accessible to all stakeholders.

• Produce a monthly resource demand and capacity report with a four-week look-ahead, identified bottlenecks, and actionable recommendations with assigned owners.

• Publish weekly schedule variance and risk reporting; escalate newly identified risks within 24 hours with root cause, impact assessment, and a corrective action plan.

• Balance test cell loading across programs to protect utilization targets while meeting program milestone dates.

Root Cause Analysis & Continuous Improvement

• Lead formal root cause analysis for qualifying events - instrumentation failures causing two or more hours of unplanned downtime, unplanned test cell shutdowns, missed milestones or test windows, and failure modes recurring twice within 30 days.

• Issue preliminary RCA within two business days and final RCA within ten, using 5-Why or Ishikawa methodology with documented root cause, corrective and preventive actions, and owner assignments.

• Drive at least two implemented continuous improvement initiatives per quarter, each with a baseline metric, implementation plan, projected benefit, and post-implementation validation.

• Maintain a searchable lessons learned register categorized by system, failure type, and program, updated within five business days of each RCA closure.

Cross-Functional Collaboration & Technical Support

• Maintain an issue and roadblock resolution log; acknowledge new items within four business hours and publish a resolution plan within one business day.

• Provide on-demand technical support for instrumentation, calibration tools, and test systems against the severity-based service levels below.

• Manage escalations end to end - initial escalation within four hours of identification and a summary report within two business days of resolution, covering timeline, stakeholders engaged, resolution actions, root cause, and preventive measures.

• Act as the primary liaison between calibration engineering, instrumentation and fabrication, test cell operations, and program management.

Core Competencies

• Ownership and follow-through - Follows through relentlessly on commitments and holds others to dates without damaging working relationships.

• Process discipline - Builds durable processes rather than one-off fixes; documents what works so it survives turnover.

• Proactive risk identification - Anticipates readiness gaps and resource conflicts before they become schedule impacts.

• Cross-functional influence - Operates credibly with engineers, technicians, planners, and program leadership.

• Analytical rigor - Treats every downtime event as a data point and closes the loop permanently.

• Composure under changing priorities - Reprioritizes cleanly when programs shift, without losing track of open items.

Working Conditions

• Split between office and active test cell / laboratory environments; exposure to noise, heat, fuel, and rotating machinery with required PPE.