Principal Flight Test Engineer

Aalto Haps Ltd.; Farnborough; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

AALTO Flight Test Engineering is seeking an experienced Principal Flight Test Engineer to lead test activities across development and certification testing. You will manage test execution, gather requirements, develop documentation, and report findings to drive informed decisions.

Responsibilities include coordinating ground and flight testing, evaluating system changes, and ensuring compliance with AALTO development and certification standards.

Qualifications

• Extensive aviation and flight test experience required.
• Degree level education in Engineering, Physics, or equivalent.
• Experience with civilian/military flight test organisations.
• Familiarity with aircraft systems, flight physics, and DO/178/254 knowledge is a plus.
• Experience with aviation regulators and airworthiness bodies.

Responsibilities

• Plan, coordinate and report flight test campaigns across UK and international sites.
• Gather test requirements from stakeholders and develop test documentation.
• Verify system requirements are implemented and assess changes.
• Ensure testing aligns with development and certification standards.

Skills

Aviation industry experience

Flight test engineering

Regulatory knowledge

Data analysis (MATLAB)

Systems knowledge

Travel readiness

Education

Engineering degree or higher

Tools

MATLAB

Job description

We are seeking an experienced Principal Flight Test Engineer to join the AALTO Flight Test Engineering team. In this role, you will report to the Director of Flight Test Engineering and be involved with all phases of development and certification testing. You will manage the successful execution of test activities, including gathering test requirements from stakeholders, developing test documentation, conducting reviews, coordinating ground and flight testing, and reporting findings to drive informed decision-making.

Responsibilities

• activities and flight test risk.
• Manage changes with the delivery of impact analysis.
• Verify that the system and sub system requirements are correctly and completely implemented.
• Evaluate system changes, including new and expanded functionality.
• Ensure the system is tested to AALTO development and certification standards.

Skills and Knowledge Required

• Extensive Aviation industry experience.
• Educated to degree level or higher in Engineering, Physics, or equivalent.
• Demonstrable experience as a Flight Test Engineer or Trials officer within a civilian/military flight test organisation.
• Extensive experience and understanding of modern aircraft systems, flight physics and a desire to learn more.
• Experience in working with Aviation Regulators and or Part 21 organisations.
• Excellent computer skills - proficiency with day-to-day applications used for email, word processing etc, as well as data analysis experience using MATLAB or similar.
• Skills understanding and analysing
• complex data within flight dynamics and performance or systems,
• Must be able to work both independently and in a team and when required to travel overseas and work extended hours.
• Excellent interpersonal skills to effectively communicate with colleagues across a wide range of technical disciplines and seniority.

Desirable skills and experience

• Knowledge of uncrewed air systems.
• Working within flight test organisations for aircraft under development.
• DO 160 environmental test requirements.
• Evaluation of systems and equipment to DO 178 and 254 requirements.
• Flight Test Engineer graduate from a recognised Test Pilot School.
• Exposure to complex manned/unmanned Flight Test and aircraft certification programmes.
• Experience working with aviation regulators/airworthiness bodies such as the CAA, EASA, FAA or MAA.
• Manned or large unmanned flying experience or Licence.

In addition to an attractive market-aligned salary, we offer:

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Responsibilities to include

• Support planning, delivery and reporting of flight test campaigns to meet company development and type certification requirements.
• Safe execution and management of ground and flight test activities both in the UK and AALTO sites worldwide.
• Elicit, analyse, and derive requirements from stakeholder needs.
• Manage individual test