Non-Contact Magnetostrictive Sensor Alignment

Systems, methods, and devices for positioning, orienting, and/or aligning a stress sensor assembly are provided. Raw stress signals, which can correspond to stress in the target, can be generated by detecting a magnetic flux that travels through the target. The raw stress signals can be sensitive to an alignment of the sensor relative to the target. In order to minimize measurement error, the stress sensor can be properly aligned relative to the target prior to taking a stress measurement. Sensor alignment can involve adjusting a yaw, pitch, and/or roll of the sensor, measuring the raw stress signals, attenuating the detected magnetic flux, and measuring the raw stress signals again. When the stress sensor is properly aligned, a change in a size of a gap between the sensor and a surface of a target can result in approximately equal changes in the raw stress signal.