UAV Flight Test Engineer: Lead Test Plans & Pilot

Blue Bear Systems Group Ltd; Oakley; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

30 days annual leave

8% company pension contribution

Private medical insurance

Group income protection

Death in service insurance

Share matching scheme

Enhanced maternity/paternity leave

Job summary

Saab UK in Bedford is seeking a Flight Test Engineer to manage the preparation and support of UAV flight operations, bridging engineering and field testing to evaluate systems through test planning, flight execution, and deep-dive analysis.

Ideally serving as a UAV pilot, you will ensure safety and compliance throughout the testing lifecycle, with essential experience in uncrewed flight tests, telemetry analysis, and UK Security Clearance.

Qualifications

• Experience in uncrewed or crewed flight test operations.
• Certified UAV pilot capable of manual and autonomous flight.
• Ability to obtain UK Security Clearance (SC level).
• Familiarity with Civil and Military Aviation regulatory requirements (CAA, MAA, EASA).

Responsibilities

• Test Planning: Design and author comprehensive flight test plans, risk assessments, and procedures aligned with engineering objectives and safety standards.
• Flight Preparation: Oversee the preparation, ground testing, and final checks of UAV systems prior to flight operations.
• Flight Test Execution: Lead or heavily support active flight testing in the field, operating as a UAV pilot to gather telemetry and performance data.
• Post Flight Analysis: Download, processing, and analysing flight data to evaluate system performance against design metrics.
• Reporting: Generate detailed flight test reports, presenting technical metrics and actionable insights to engineering teams.

Skills

Flight test operations

Telemetry analysis

UAV piloting

Data analysis

Job description

Saab UK in Bedford is seeking a Flight Test Engineer to manage the preparation and support of UAV flight operations, bridging engineering and field testing to evaluate systems through test planning, flight execution, and deep-dive analysis.

Ideally serving as a UAV pilot, you will ensure safety and compliance throughout the testing lifecycle, with essential experience in uncrewed flight tests, telemetry analysis, and UK Security Clearance.