Senior UAV Design Engineer: Prototyping to Flight Validation

Livelink Technology Ltd; Havant; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

LiveLink Aerospace is seeking a Senior UAV Design Engineer in Havant to own the lifecycle of UAV systems from concept to low-volume production. You will blend mechanical design with hardware integration, building, testing and refining advanced aerospace platforms.

The role requires 4–5 years in UAV design, strong CAD (Fusion 360), hands-on electronics, and experience with Betaflight/ArduCopter flight stacks. UK Security Clearance (SC) eligibility is essential.

Qualifications

• Ability to own UAV system lifecycle from concept to production.
• Strong CAD and production drawing capability.
• Hands-on hardware integration and testing skills.

Responsibilities

• Mechanical & structural design of UAV airframes and payloads using Fusion 360.
• Select and specify UAV components including propulsion, motors, batteries and sensors.
• Prototype rapidly using 3D printing, sheet metal, laser cutting and other methods.
• Produce BOMs and build instructions for production teams.
• Integrate, wire, and test flight stacks; tune Betaflight/ArduCopter firmware.
• Conduct field testing and validate UAV performance; drive design iterations.
• Collaborate with RF and software engineers; support transition to low-volume production.
• Coordinate with suppliers and manufacturers for prototyping and production runs.

Skills

Problem solving

Team collaboration

Documentation

Tools

Fusion 360

ArduCopter

Betaflight

3D printing

Sheet metal

Laser CNC

CNC bending

Job description

LiveLink Aerospace is seeking a Senior UAV Design Engineer in Havant to own the lifecycle of UAV systems from concept to low-volume production. You will blend mechanical design with hardware integration, building, testing and refining advanced aerospace platforms.

The role requires 4–5 years in UAV design, strong CAD (Fusion 360), hands-on electronics, and experience with Betaflight/ArduCopter flight stacks. UK Security Clearance (SC) eligibility is essential.