Flight Test Engineer - BVLOS & Autonomous UAS Testing

SkyBound; Southampton; Hybrid; GBP 55,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

23 days annual leave

Free on-site parking and EV charging

Industry-relevant training and dev

Flexible, casual working environment

Health and wellbeing support

Free tea, coffee and fruit

Job summary

SkyBound is seeking a Flight Test Engineer to join our Testing team in a hybrid role based at our Southampton HQ. You will integrate and test fixed-wing, VTOL and multi-rotor UAS, work with Design, Software and Engineering teams, and coordinate with external stakeholders to test new capabilities.

You will plan test programmes, execute BVLOS flights from Southampton or on-site, and feed learnings back into how we operate—troubleshooting equipment in the field and documenting findings for

Qualifications

• Demonstrable UAS piloting experience in an R&D environment.
• Excellent communication with internal teams and clients.
• Ability to perform dynamic risk assessment under pressure.
• Proven ability to plan and manage own workload independently.
• Collaborative, team-first approach and openness to new ways of working.

Responsibilities

• Plan and conduct safe, compliant test flight operations with cross-functional teams.
• Operate as Remote Pilot BVLOS across the UK and internationally.
• Define and execute test programmes for software, hardware and systems.
• Troubleshoot field equipment and document findings for procedures.
• Produce accurate post-flight reports and escalate anomalies.
• Liaise with internal teams to feed lessons learned into procedures.

Skills

UAS piloting experience

Strong communication

Risk assessment

Independent planning

Team collaboration

Full UK driving licence

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience

Tools

ArduPilot Mission Planner

QGroundControl

Job description

SkyBound is seeking a Flight Test Engineer to join our Testing team in a hybrid role based at our Southampton HQ. You will integrate and test fixed-wing, VTOL and multi-rotor UAS, work with Design, Software and Engineering teams, and coordinate with external stakeholders to test new capabilities.

You will plan test programmes, execute BVLOS flights from Southampton or on-site, and feed learnings back into how we operate—troubleshooting equipment in the field and documenting findings for