The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) is seeking a hands-on, curious Instrumentation Engineer to join our research team at the IBHS Research Center in Richburg, SC — home to one of the world's few full-scale test chambers capable of recreating hurricanes, hailstorms, wildfire ember exposure, and other severe weather in a controlled laboratory setting. In this role, you will design, build, integrate, and improve the sensing, actuation, and data acquisition systems that power our large-scale testing. Your work directly supports research that makes homes and businesses more resilient against severe weather.
This is a great fit for an engineer who enjoys working with real hardware — someone who likes to figure out how a system works, make it better, and see the results in action.
What You'll Do
Design, install, calibrate, and maintain instrumentation used in laboratory and field testing, including a wide range of analog and digital sensors.
Select, integrate, and control actuators such as servo motors, solenoid valves, and other electromechanical devices.
Develop and maintain data acquisition (DAQ) systems, primarily using National Instruments hardware and LabVIEW software.
Prototype and support measurement and control solutions using microcontroller platforms (e.g., Arduino) and other embedded systems where appropriate.
Read, create, and update wiring diagrams and support electrical and mechanical design of test setups.
Troubleshoot and resolve instrumentation and electronics issues quickly to keep research on schedule.
Evaluate existing systems and identify opportunities to improve accuracy, reliability, and performance.
Collaborate with engineers, scientists, and technicians to develop new instrumentation solutions for novel test programs.
Maintain accurate records of calibration, maintenance, and system configurations.
Follow safety standards and protocols in all lab and field activities.
Requirements
What We're Looking For
Bachelor's degree in engineering required; Master's degree preferred. Mechanical or electrical engineering are the preferred disciplines; closely related fields such as mechatronics, aerospace engineering, computer engineering, or engineering technology are also welcome.
2–5 years of experience with instrumentation, measurement, or electromechanical systems (relevant graduate research or strong hands-on project experience may count toward this).
Experience with analog and digital sensors (e.g., pressure, load, displacement, temperature) and signal conditioning.
Experience with actuators, including servo motors, solenoids, and solenoid valves.
Experience with data acquisition systems — National Instruments hardware and LabVIEW architecture strongly preferred; experience with Arduino or similar platforms is a plus.
Strong hands-on skills: wiring, assembly, testing, and troubleshooting of electromechanical systems.
Familiarity with mechanical and electrical design and the ability to interpret wiring diagrams and drawings.
Eligible to work in the United States.
Nice to Have
Experience with Python or MATLAB for data processing and analysis.
Familiarity with CAD tools for design of fixtures or test setups.
Experience collaborating with scientists, lab technicians, or multidisciplinary engineering teams.