Experienced Test Engineer - Sustainment

Overview

There’s never been a better time to join the shipbuilding industry. As demand for cutting-edge naval technology grows, General Dynamics Electric Boat is at the forefront—designing, building, and maintaining the most advanced submarines in the world. Our work is mission-critical, supporting the U.S. Navy and strengthening national security.

About Department 408 - Life Cycle Engineering

D408 Life Cycle Engineering is responsible for the development of Integrated Logistics Support (ILS) products and maintenance of ship design requirements to maximize the Operational Availability (Ao) of all ships in the fleet. From cradle to grave, this organization is involved during early concept arrangement, detail design, new construction, and support in-service assets to ensure fleet readiness and modernization efforts. Our influence during the design phase and documentation produced directly support the ship and all maintenance stakeholders during the ship’s lifecycle.

Role Overview

Life Cycle Engineering is seeking a highly motivated test engineer with experience in submarine operations to support execution of sustainment engineering initiatives for VIRGINIA Class and SSN(X) Programs. In this role, you will work with the VIRGINIA Sustainment Engineering team to advise submarine designs as they are developed in the 3D model. Your experience will be applied to achieve the prescribed OPCYCLE, meet operational availability goals, ensure systems and components are maintainable during all levels of maintenance, and strive to reduce the life cycle costs of each submarine platform for the United States NAVY. This is an opportunity to work in a collaborative environment with a diverse group of engineers and non-degreed engineering personnel, who possess a strong reputation for producing quality ship’s design products.

Experience in the operation and maintenance of submarines is highly desired for this role. A ship maintainer’s perspective with a background in supporting technical systems is invaluable to advising the ship design concept. Individuals selected for this position will be expected to develop and execute projects in support of current and future design efforts, design modifications, and maintainability improvement tasking. Routine interaction with ship designers, engineers, program management, SUBMEPP, Naval Facilities, public shipyards, and Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) is required.

As a new member of the Design-Build-Sustain (DBS) enterprise, you will interface with all design and engineering disciplines, shipyard operations personnel, and advocate for downstream maintenance stakeholders. This process establishes a feedback loop between the frontline maintainers and the design agent where lessons learned are shared and implemented. In this capacity, you will be expected to be the voice of post-delivery maintenance and overhaul considerations, while striving to strike a balance between design requirements, arrangement constraints, and the operational needs of the fleet. 

Key Responsibilities

• Work Collaboratively with Engineers, Designers, and the Maintenance community to ensure maintenance concerns and requirements are accounted for in development of future submarines
• Develop comprehension of ship specifications and desktop guides, as well as proficiency with key resources such as the Class Maintenance Plan (CMP), Planned Maintenance System (PMS) Viewer, and the Open Architectural Retrieval System (OARS) 3M system
• Contribute to VIRGINIA and SSN(X) programs in a supporting role to task leads in the completion of applicable projects and deliverables
• Perform maintainability assessments of ship systems and component designs for maintenance and accessibility, reliability, facilitating lifting and handling needs, as well as life cycle cost analysis to support relevant trade studies
• Become proficient with the 3D modelling tool - NX Teamcenter - in order to support major area team reviews and working level meetings with Design & Engineering
• Participate in periodic industrial area walkthroughs of the shipyard and submarine hulls under constructions to raise deck plate awareness
• Identify, investigate, and disposition opportunities for maintenance related design improvements to both future and current submarines.

Qualifications

Required

• High School diploma or equivalent
• US NAVY submarine operational experience, minimum 5 years
• Fluent in written and verbal communications, problem identification, and problem solving
• Candidates must be capable of combining assertive initiative with professional discipline to accomplish challenging tasks
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a security clearance through the department of defense

Preferred

• Entry level awareness of specification requirements, maintainability principles, failure history research, interpreting drawings and diagrams
• 8+ years of US NAVY submarine operational experience
• Qualified Propulsion Plant Operator, Electrical Operator, or Engineering Officer of the Watch on Virginia Class Submarine.

Skills

• Must possess an open-minded approach to learning new concepts, thinking critically, and speaking with confidence
• Strong written, verbal, and organizational skills

Why Join Us

• We offer a workplace where integrity, innovation, and excellence drive everything we do
• Competitive Pay & Benefits – Comprehensive healthcare, retirement plans, and tuition assistance
• Career Growth – Training, mentorship, and opportunities to advance within the company
• Stability & Expansion – We’re growing, adding thousands of new jobs across our facilities
• Inclusive Culture – Employee Resource Groups and community engagement
• Impactful Work – Every role contributes directly to national defense and the U.S. Navy’s mission