Flight Test & Systems Integration Lead

SkyBound; Southampton; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

23 days annual leave

Free on-site parking

Training & development

Flexible working environment

Health & wellbeing support

Job summary

SkyBound, based in Southampton, is expanding its autonomous drone operations and seeking a Test & Integration Manager. You’ll lead a Flight Test Engineering team, shape the testing strategy, and work across Engineering, Software, Operations and Product to translate test results into better products and operations.

In year one you’ll balance hands-on leadership with team building, safety emphasis and process development while aligning testing with SkyBound’s ambitious scale across UK airspaces.

Qualifications

• Significant experience in UAS or related aerospace environments.
• Experience testing new or developmental aircraft and systems.
• Strong understanding of flight-test safety, risk management and regulations.

Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor and develop the Flight Test Engineering team.
• Plan and prioritise workload against business priorities.
• Define test objectives, success criteria and data requirements.
• Lead pre-flight preparation, risk assessments and readiness reviews.
• Provide technical leadership during live trials and deployments.
• Analyze results and turn test data into engineering decisions.

Skills

UAS flight test

Team leadership

Safety & risk management

Aircraft testing

Cross-functional collaboration

Hands-on testing

Education

Engineering or robotics degree

Tools

ArduPilot

Mission Planner

QGroundControl

Job description

SkyBound, based in Southampton, is expanding its autonomous drone operations and seeking a Test & Integration Manager. You’ll lead a Flight Test Engineering team, shape the testing strategy, and work across Engineering, Software, Operations and Product to translate test results into better products and operations.

In year one you’ll balance hands-on leadership with team building, safety emphasis and process development while aligning testing with SkyBound’s ambitious scale across UK airspaces.