Senior Engineer, Flight Test
Senior Engineer responsible for developing and executing flight test plans, building analysis tools, and validating autonomy capabilities for AI robotics systems in real-world environments. Requires 5+ years experience in software quality, test automation, and field/flight testing of autonomous systems, plus FAA Part 107 certification.
About the job
What you'll do
- Develop and execute flight test plans that validate new autonomy capabilities, software integrations, and system performance in real-world flight environments.
- Design and execute test scenarios that reproduce operational customer workflows and mission conditions to identify software defects, integration issues, and performance limitations.
- Build analysis tools and validation workflows that improve test coverage, accelerate regression testing, and reduce time to identify issues.
- Review flight logs, telemetry, rosbags, and system data to triage issues, perform root-cause analysis, and collaborate with engineering teams to drive resolution.
- Work closely with middleware, autonomy, and integration teams to develop complementary test strategies, share tooling, and improve overall product quality.
- Provide technical guidance to junior engineers, establish testing standards, and help improve engineering processes across the organization.
- Maintain standard operating procedures, participate in flight operations, and contribute to the continuous improvement of testing processes and operational readiness.
Required qualifications
- Typically requires a minimum of 5 years of related experience with a Bachelor's degree; or 4 years and a Master's degree; or equivalent work experience.
- Proficiency in software quality engineering, test automation, and programming with Python and C++.
- Experience planning and executing field or flight testing for robotics, autonomous systems, or complex software platforms.
- Experience developing automated test tooling, validation frameworks, or data analysis tools.
- Demonstrated experience designing, documenting, executing, and tracking test plans, test cases, and software defects.
- Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to analyze flight logs, telemetry, and system behavior to identify root causes.
- Excellent communication skills with the ability to collaborate across software, hardware, product, and test organizations.
- FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate (or the ability to obtain one within a reasonable timeframe).
Preferred qualifications
- Experience using GenAI tools to improve engineering productivity or software quality.
- Experience with C++14/C++17, TypeScript, JSON, and modern software development practices.
- Experience with ROS.
- Proficiency with simulation tools and Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) testing environments.
- Experience with CI/CD pipelines.
- Familiarity with networking, Linux operating systems, and radio communications.
- Experience testing autonomous aerial systems or other robotic platforms.
- Experience analyzing flight telemetry, sensor data, and autonomy behaviors.
Skills
Python, C++, ROS, Test Automation, CI/CD, Linux, Hardware-In-The-Loop, Telemetry Analysis, Flight Testing, Test Planning
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