At Halter, we’re on a mission to enable farmers and graziers to run the most productive and sustainable operations. Our customers are using Halter to break free from the time-intensive constraints of conventional practices. Imagine watching 500 cattle stand up and walk calmly towards their next break? No quad bikes, no dogs, no fences. Just a group of cattle walking at their own pace. People say it looks like magic. Our customers are revolutionizing grazing with Halter. It's changing lives and transforming an industry. People join Halter to do meaningful work. By joining us you’ll be solving challenging problems within a talented team and a culture built for high performance. Our team out-think, out-work and out-care. We’re committed to delivering real change in the world - this isn’t easy, and in truth, we love that it’s hard.
We’re backed to deliver on a mission that matters by Tier 1 investors including Founders Fund, Bessemer Venture Partners, BOND, DCVC, Blackbird, Promus Ventures, Rocket Lab’s Peter Beck and Icehouse ventures.
To find out more, visit our LinkedIn & Instagram.
Halter is flipping the livestock world on its head. We're scaling fast across NZ, Aus, and the US, lining up multiple new international markets, and the stakes are high.
We are looking for an Experienced Hardware Test Engineer to be a technical cornerstone of our Test Engineering pillar within the broader Reliability Function. Our collar is tough and built for the beating it takes day in and day out on a farm, but it can always be tougher. We've iterated it to this point and learnt many tough lessons along the way. We need someone who can design and execute the tests that turn assumptions into evidence—someone who brings rigour, creativity, and speed to every challenge they take on.
Our devices face demanding field conditions at incredible scale. We'll be the first virtual fencing company ever with 1 million devices live, and with some customers deploying thousands of units per herd, our testing must be comprehensive—accounting for every edge case to guarantee reliability.
Hardware is only getting more important strategically for Halter, and you'll be right at the core, making that happen. It's a rare opportunity to accelerate your career with unique and valuable experience in a high-performance, fast-paced environment where reliability matters.
This role reports to our Hardware Test Engineering Manager and sits within the Reliability Function. You'll be the person who designs the test, builds the rig, runs the data, and delivers the evidence that drives confident product decisions.
Your work produces the evidence that decides whether we ship, whether we hold, and what we fix next. You'll operate with a high degree of autonomy across test design, execution, and infrastructure.
Design, build, and run tests that matter:
Design and execute environmental, mechanical, and reliability tests across sub-systems and full product assemblies-HALT, UV exposure, tumble, impact, thermal cycling, ingress, and more.
Own tests end-to-end: from interpreting reliability requirements and writing test plans through to execution, analysis, and delivering clear pass/fail evidence.
Identify gaps in test coverage and propose new methods or approaches to close them.
Build and maintain test infrastructure:
Design and build bespoke test rigs, fixtures, and automation that make testing faster, more repeatable, and less manual.
Own and maintain environmental chambers, DAQ systems, instrumentation, and calibration to a high standard.
Continuously raise the bar on throughput without compromising evidence quality or repeatability.
Deliver decision-grade data:
Ensure every test produces data that is trustworthy, traceable, and actionable—not just raw numbers, but clear evidence that engineering leadership can rely on for go/no-go decisions.
Maintain strong test governance practices: calibration records, procedure versioning, and full traceability.
Present findings clearly to cross-functional stakeholders, turning complex results into crisp recommendations.
Collaborate across engineering:
Partner closely with Reliability Engineering, Hardware Design, Firmware, and Production to ensure testing is embedded early in the development cycle, not bolted on at the end.
Work with Reliability Engineers to translate reliability requirements into robust, efficient test plans.
Contribute to a culture of evidence over opinions—where "reliable" means "proven," not "seems fine."
Tests you design and run are repeatable, well-documented, and trusted across the organisation.
Your evidence directly enables Halter to ship with confidence, driven by data rather than hope.
Test infrastructure you build scales with the team—others can pick up your rigs, procedures, and methods and run with them.
Reliability improves with every release, and your work is a key reason why.
You're a hands-on engineer who builds things that work
Significant experience in hardware test engineering or validation in high-reliability environments (IoT, ruggedised consumer electronics, automotive, aerospace, industrial, robotics, or similar).
You've designed and run environmental and reliability tests, and you understand the science behind the stress methods, not just the procedures.
You know the tools and the reality
Strong experience with environmental testing, accelerated life testing, and reliability stress methods such as HALT/UV/Tumble/Impact etc.
Proven ability to design and build bespoke test jigs, fixtures, instrumentation, DAQ systems, and automation.
Solid calibration discipline and an instinct for where precision matters versus where "good enough" is actually good enough.
Comfortable with data analysis and able to draw clear conclusions from test results.
You operate with ownership and clarity
You take end-to-end ownership of your work and hold yourself to a high standard.
You communicate clearly—your test reports, presentations, and recommendations are easy to act on.
You thrive in cross-functional environments and collaborate with high standards and low ego.
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