What you'll do:

• Serve as the senior on-site leader for all flight test personnel, including flight test engineers, operators, technicians, instrumentation, and support staff.
• Provide direct leadership, tasking, and prioritization for the test team during daily operations and test campaigns.
• Establish clear roles, responsibilities, and expectations for test personnel to ensure disciplined execution and crew accountability.
• Foster a strong safety culture, professional standards, and effective crew coordination across all test activities.
• Serve as Pilot in Command (PIC) for next-generation unmanned flight operations, ensuring strict adherence to safety, regulatory, and procedural standards.
• Lead end-to-end flight test campaigns from planning and readiness reviews through execution, post-flight analysis, and reporting.
• Act as Test Conductor during all mission events, directing test execution, managing crew communications, and making time-critical operational decisions.
• Design, document, and refine control-room infrastructure, console layouts, and flight operations procedures to improve situational awareness and execution efficiency.
• Oversee control-room operations including comms discipline, telemetry coordination, safety monitoring, and real-time decision-making.
• Develop, review, and approve test plans, test cards, hazard analyses, and data-collection strategies in coordination with engineering and test safety teams.
• Conduct real-time telemetry monitoring, anomaly detection, and flight data validation during mission execution.
• Lead structured post-flight debriefs and deliver concise, actionable findings to engineering, autonomy, propulsion, and systems teams.
• Support continuous improvement of test processes, instrumentation, telemetry systems, and data architecture to increase test velocity and quality.

Required qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, Electrical, or Systems Engineering, or equivalent technical experience.
• 7+ years of experience in flight test or advanced system testing for unmanned or manned aircraft.
• Demonstrated experience leading complex flight test missions with real-time operational authority.
• Prior experience serving as Test Conductor, PIC, or equivalent flight test leadership role.
• Proven ability to lead multidisciplinary teams in high-tempo, safety-critical environments.
• Strong background in control-room design, test conduct, comms discipline, and real-time telemetry integration.
• Hands-on experience with flight test instrumentation, telemetry systems, and data acquisition architectures.
• Experience in at least one major test discipline (aerodynamics/performance, propulsion, loads and dynamics, or electrical systems).
• Familiarity with structured flight test risk management, pre-flight briefs, and formal post-flight debriefs.
• Proficiency with MATLAB, Python, or similar tools for post-flight data analysis.
• Working knowledge of applicable military standards (e.g., MIL-STD-882E, MIL-STD-516C) and U.S. UAS airspace regulations.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills across engineering, operations, and leadership audiences.
• Pilot certification (Private, Commercial, or higher) or prior military flight qualification.

Preferred qualifications:

• Experience with large UAS or high-performance experimental aircraft development programs.
• Background in DoD developmental or operational flight test (DT/OT, E-/T-designated).
• Experience serving as Airworthiness Authority, Test Safety Officer, or equivalent role.
• Familiarity with DO-178C, MIL-STD-810, or formal airworthiness qualification processes.
• FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate or ability to obtain.
• Prior experience managing test teams or serving as the senior on-site test authority.

211390 - 317084 USD a year