Avionics Prototyping Technician — Production Liaison

AirQ; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

AirQ in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi, UAE, seeks an R&D Technician – Avionics to build, integrate, test and maintain electrical systems for UAV prototypes and ground equipment. You will bridge R&D and Production, creating first production units, writing work instructions and training assembly staff to ensure correct wiring, calibration and set-up from the start.

The role involves hands-on fault finding, firmware loading, sensor calibration, power systems, HIL testing, and participation in pre-flight

Qualifications

• Diploma, associate degree or technical certificate in electronics, electrical engineering, avionics, mechatronics or aircraft maintenance.
• Minimum 3 years of hands-on experience in electronics or avionics assembly, integration or maintenance. UAV, aerospace, defence, automotive or robotics experience is preferred.
• An avionics maintenance licence or military avionics experience is an advantage.
• Experience training others or writing work instructions is an advantage.

Responsibilities

• Build wiring harnesses and cable assemblies from drawings and pin-out tables.
• Install and connect avionics in airframes and ground systems, including flight controllers, GNSS and compass units, air data sensors, radios and data links, payloads, ESCs, servos, power distribution units and batteries.
• Assemble and wire ground equipment such as ground control stations, antenna and tracker set-ups, launcher control and power boxes, test benches and test rigs.
• Route and attach cables to protect them from vibration, heat, chafing and electrical noise (EMI); apply correct shielding and grounding.
• Perform through-hole and surface-mount soldering and PCB rework on prototype boards as instructed by hardware engineers.
• Perform continuity, insulation and power-up tests on harnesses and assemblies before first power-on, and record results.
• Load firmware and parameters on flight controllers and other devices; set up and calibrate sensors and actuators, including accelerometers, compass, airspeed, ESCs, servo travel and direction, and radio links.
• Set up and operate bench tests and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) test set-ups. Measure voltage, current and signals with the correct test equipment.
• Find and repair electrical faults down to component level and report root cause to the responsible engineer.
• Support ground and flight tests at test sites, including pre-flight checks, radio range checks, battery and power preparation, log download and post-flight checks.
• Keep R&D prototypes and ground equipment ready for test through scheduled checks, repairs and modifications.
• Maintain records for each prototype, including hardware build state, firmware and parameter versions, modifications, flight hours and defects.
• Manage LiPo and Li-ion batteries: charge, store, cycle, inspect and discard them safely; maintain battery logs.
• Maintain appropriate stocks of connectors, wire, consumables and spare parts, and inform Procurement before stock runs out.
• Build the first (pilot) production units with the assembly team and identify design features that make products difficult to build or test.
• Write and validate photo-based work instructions for harness build, installation, set-up and calibration so assembly technicians can follow them independently.
• Prepare harness boards, test fixtures, checklists and acceptance test procedures (ATP) for end-of-line tests.
• Train production and assembly staff in crimping, soldering, connector assembly, wiring, firmware loading, calibration and set-up; check their work and sign them off when competent.
• Support production with technical problems and non-conformance investigations, and share lessons learned with R&D.
• Follow safety rules and 5S practices; keep the avionics workshop clean, safe and organized.

Job description

AirQ in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi, UAE, seeks an R&D Technician – Avionics to build, integrate, test and maintain electrical systems for UAV prototypes and ground equipment. You will bridge R&D and Production, creating first production units, writing work instructions and training assembly staff to ensure correct wiring, calibration and set-up from the start.

The role involves hands-on fault finding, firmware loading, sensor calibration, power systems, HIL testing, and participation in pre-flight