Flight Control Systems Engineer — Autonomous UAS

SAAB; Preston Bissett; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Saab UK is seeking a Flight Control Systems Engineer to develop and test safety-critical flight software for autonomous aircraft. You will define requirements, implement control laws in MATLAB/Simulink, and verify via simulations before live testing at our nearby facility.

You will contribute to standard operating processes, participate in continuous improvement, and work in a multidisciplinary team with strong communication skills. National security screening is required for this role.

Qualifications

• Essential: Degree in aerospace engineering or similar.
• Understanding of aerodynamics and flight mechanics, and their impact on flight control.
• Experience in using MATLAB/Simulink for developing algorithms and control laws.
• Hands-on experience in designing and commissioning control systems.
• Existing SC Clearance.
• Desirable: Experience designing and implementing guidance, navigation and control algorithms for fixed and/or rotary wing vehicles.
• Knowledge of state-of-the-art sensing systems.
• Hands-on experience with small UAS.
• Mathworks' Stateflow, Simulink Coder and Embedded Coder packages.
• Experience developing mathematical algorithms e.g. Data fusion, state estimation etc.
• Experience working with embedded systems, real-time systems, safety critical systems.
• Knowledge of communication systems.
• Version control systems e.g. git.
• C++, Java, Python development skills.
• Experience with quality standards for software (e.g. DO-178, ED-20x).

Responsibilities

• Develop, maintain and test safety-critical software for flight systems.
• Contribute to requirements definition and use MATLAB/Simulink to generate flight control algorithms.
• Verify and validate using bespoke simulations before deploying to target hardware.
• Conduct real-world flight testing at the test facility near the office.
• Present testing findings in reports or customer-facing presentations.
• Collaborate in a multidisciplinary team and contribute to SOPs and continuous improvement.

Skills

Aerospace degree

Aerodynamics & flight mechanics

MATLAB/Simulink

Control systems design

SC clearance

C++, Java, Python

Embedded & real-time systems

DO-178 / ED-20x

git (version control)

UAS experience

Sensing systems knowledge

State estimation / data fusion

Communications systems knowledge

Stateflow / Simulink Coder

Education

Bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering

Tools

MATLAB/Simulink

Job description

Saab UK is seeking a Flight Control Systems Engineer to develop and test safety-critical flight software for autonomous aircraft. You will define requirements, implement control laws in MATLAB/Simulink, and verify via simulations before live testing at our nearby facility.

You will contribute to standard operating processes, participate in continuous improvement, and work in a multidisciplinary team with strong communication skills. National security screening is required for this role.