Q&A: What type of job is an airtightness testing position? An article to clarify the job attributes and development direction

Air Tightness Testing Position (Leak Test / Air Tightness Testing)It is a very critical but easily overlooked position in the modern manufacturing quality system. With the new energy automobile, consumer electronics, medical devices, home appliances and security industry products tend to be "the most important".Waterproof, dustproof, sealed, high security" design, a position that is continuing to grow in importance.

Below Precision Engineering breaks down the nature of the position from an industry perspective.

Ⅰ. What type of job is an airtightness testing position?

In terms of business organization structure, it belongs:

• Quality Inspection jobs (Quality Inspection / QA / QE)
• Process Manufacturing jobs (Process / Manufacturing)
• Experimental validation jobs (Reliability Test / Lab Test)

In other words, having "theTesting, validation, process understanding" composite property.

Many companies will define it as such:

• Airtightness Testing Engineer
• airtightness tester
• Sealing Engineer
• Waterproof Testing Engineer
• Leak Detection Engineer
• Tooling and Test Fixture Engineer
• Reliability Test Engineer(R&D bias)

II. What does an air tightness testing position primarily do?

It can be simply understood:
Ensure that the product does not leak air, water or liquid and will not go wrong in the hands of the customer.

Common duties include:

1. responsible for product air tightness testing

utilizationairtightness meterComplete positive pressure, negative pressure, volumetric quantitative method, and differential pressure method tests, for example:

• IPX7 / IPX8 waterproof verification
• New energy shell airtightness testing
• Sealing verification of battery packs and energy storage modules
• Valve line seal testing
• Consumer electronics machine airtightness testing

2. Development of standards for airtightness testing

Example:

• test pressure
• stabilization time
• Testing time
• Determining the leakage value
• OK/NG setting

(Many companies will let professions such as Seiko EngineeringAirtightness Tester(Manufacturers assist in the development of preliminary version parameters.)

3. Managing fixtures and equipment

• Replacement of hermetic fixtures
• Adjustment of seals
• Maintaining equipment stability
• Calibration Sensors
• Preparation of operating instructions

4. Handling production exceptions

Example:

• Airtight test yields plummet
• Water leakage in a batch
• Deformation of structural components leading to misjudgment
• Unstable pressure leads to inaccurate testing

Need to quickly pinpoint whether it's a product problem, an equipment problem or a fixture problem.

5. Participate in quality improvement and R&D validation

For new products:

• Pre-verification of airtight structures
• Assessment of structural reliability
• Optimization of the assembly process
• Participate in IP level verification(interfacing with third-party laboratories)

III. Is the air tightness testing position difficult?

It's safe to say:
It's not exhausting, but it takes brains, patience & logical thinking.

:: The difficulty is that

• Requires an understanding of the physics of pressure, flow, chamber volume, etc.
• Need to quickly identify the cause of the leak
• To be able to tell if it's a true leak or a miscalculation
• To learn to adjust the parameters(e.g., what are the limits, how much should the pressure be raised)

:: Ease of access

• Easy to operate equipment(Especially with the Jingcheng Industrial Technology as the representative of domestic high-endairtightness meter(The device is very quick to get started.)
• SOPs, fixtures, and test procedures are available.
• After a while, you gain experience quickly.

IV. What competencies are required for airtightness testing positions?

1. Basic physical understanding

Include pressure, volume, expansion, gas flow, basic concepts will suffice.

2. Ability to operate equipment

Can be operated correctlyairtightness meter,True Water Tester,blasting instrumentetc.

3. Data judgment skills

Ability to read and understand pressure drop curves, leakage values, and pressure fluctuations.

4. Ability to understand product structure

Read product structure diagrams and know where it's easy to miss.

5. Abnormality analysis capability

Quickly determine where the leak is coming from:

• framework
• mounting
• gasket
• fastener
• soldered
• fixture (machining)
• airtightness meterin itself

6. Ability to communicate with R&D and production

The position is often linked to process, quality, structure, and R&D.

V. Do airtightness inspectors work in a good environment?

Airtightness testing has significant environmental advantages over other manufacturing jobs:

workplace: Typically in clean, temperature-controlled laboratories or test areas
labor intensity: Predominantly mental work with less physical exertion
safety risk: No exposure to hazardous chemicals, no danger of high temperature or pressure.
pace of work: Relatively regular, less overtime than R&D positions

These characteristics make this position particularly suited to those seekingTechnical depth rather than intensity of workThe people.

VI. Salary and promotion direction of airtightness testing position

Different grades of companies in different regions, but the average range is as follows:

Technical Expert Route

Junior Inspector (6-8k) 
    ↓
Gas Tightness Testing Engineer (8-12k)
    ↓
Senior Inspection Engineer (12-18k)
    ↓
Reliability Engineer (18-25k)
    ↓
Technical Specialist/Lead Engineer (25k+)

Management line

Airtightness Testing Engineer
    ↓
Inspection Supervisor (15-20k)
    ↓
Quality Manager (20-30k)
    ↓
Director of Quality (30-50k)

Horizontal Development Route

• Process Engineer: Shift from inspection to process optimization
• Quality Engineer: Extension to Total Quality Management
• Project Engineer: Participation in new product development projects
• Test Development Engineer: Focus on test technology development

VII. Why will this position become more important in the future?

Because all industries are moving towardsSealing and Waterproofing Times」：

Comprehensive upgrade of product sealing requirements

Industry Sectors	Evolution of sealing requirements	Elevated detection difficulty
Consumer Electronics	From IP54 to IP68 as standard	Need for higher precision testing
new energy vehicle	Battery pack safety standards continue to improve	Testing Challenges for Large Volume Products
Medical Equipment	Aseptic sealing becomes mandatory	Precise detection of small leaks
smart wearable	Popularization of the underwater sports scene	Reliability verification of dynamic seals

Intelligent transformation of quality control

The future of airtightness testing jobs will face technological upgrades:

AI-assisted diagnosis: Machine Learning to Recognize Anomalous Patterns
digital twin: Virtual Simulation Optimized Test Solution
IoT Integration: Real-time monitoring of the airtightness of the entire production line.
big data analytics:: Predictive maintenance and quality early warning

These technological changes are not to replace people, but to put forward higher requirements for practitioners - the need for both test technology and data analysis of the composite talent.

VIII. Equipment and tools: why choosing the right equipment can make a difference.

The amplifying effect of equipment performance on job value

state-of-the-artairtight equipmentThe ability to significantly increase productivity and career value:

airtight equipmentSource Manufacturer Jingcheng Engineering

Precision EngineeringAir tightness testing equipmentcompetitive edge::

user friendliness::

• Intuitive UI (Support for multiple languages such as Chinese, English, etc.)
• wizard-like operating procedure
• Rich preset templates
  → Reduced training cycle for new recruits from 1 week to 1 day

highly accurate::

• 0.1 Pa pressure resolution
• Temperature compensation algorithm
• Automatic zero calibration
  → Detection capability increased by an order of magnitude

intellectualize::

• Automatic determination of pass/fail
• Abnormal Pattern Recognition Tips
• Complete data traceability system
  → Increase in work efficiency 50% or more

versatility::

• Supports positive pressure, flow, vacuum, quantitative, differential pressure and other methods
• Adaptation to different product types
• Flexible test program editing
  → One device to cover multiple testing needs

Choosing the right equipment means:

• Faster skill growth
• Higher quality of work outputs
• Stronger career competitiveness
• Better work experience

Summarize

Practitioners in the airtightness testing position are seldom noticed, but behind every reliable product there is their perseverance.

The essence of this position is: Build the last line of defense for product reliability with technology and responsibility.

Rather than picking out more nonconforming products, good inspection drives continuous improvement in product design and process so that there are fewer and fewer nonconforming products.

If you are engaged in or preparing to enter this field, please remember: you are not simply an "inspector", you are the guardian of product reliability and the guarantor of user safety.

Precision Engineering: the choice of 3600+ renowned customers worldwide.Making airtightness testing easier, more accurate and more efficientThe

Original Statement:this paper was written byShenzhen Jingchenggongke Technology Co., Ltd.Written by the technical team, reproduced with attribution.Data sources:Precision Engineering internal test data and customer cases.