Flight Test Engineer
Plan and execute flight test campaigns for UAV platforms operating in high-risk, real-world defence environments — envelope expansion through operational validation.
Own flight test planning end to end: write test cards, define success criteria against system requirements, and sequence envelope expansion from first flight through operational limits — for platforms that will fly real defence missions, not demo footage.
Coordinate directly with the UAV test pilot, design engineering, and airworthiness teams during live test sorties: brief the flight, monitor telemetry in real time, call aborts when data or behaviour diverges from predicted performance, and debrief against the test card immediately after landing.
Turn every sortie into evidence: reduce telemetry and instrumentation data into pass/fail verdicts against requirements, maintain the test log that feeds airworthiness and certification submissions, and flag anomalies before they become field failures.
This is safety-of-flight work. Bad judgement here costs hardware, costs a programme timeline, and can cost a life on the ground under the flight path — we hire for people who treat that with the seriousness it deserves.
Requirements
- Five or more years in flight test engineering for fixed-wing or rotary UAV/aircraft platforms
- Working knowledge of flight test methodology — test card design, envelope expansion, and risk-based test point sequencing
- Comfortable reading and interpreting real-time telemetry (attitude, airspeed, control surface response, powerplant parameters) during live flight
- Strong grounding in flight dynamics, stability and control, and failure-mode analysis
- Meticulous documentation discipline — test logs and reports that hold up under airworthiness and regulatory review
- Able to make a go/no-go or abort call under time pressure and own the consequences of that call
Nice to have
- DGCA UAS flight test or certification experience
- Formal flight test engineer training or military flight test background
- Experience with hardware-in-the-loop or software-in-the-loop test rigs ahead of live flight
- Prior work on platforms intended for contested or GPS-denied operating environments
Education
Bachelor's in Aerospace, Mechanical, or Avionics Engineering; formal flight test training (USNTPS, ETPS, NTPS, or equivalent) preferred
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