UAV Flight Test Engineer & Pilot

SAAB; Ideford; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

30 days annual leave

Workplace pension 8%

Private medical insurance

Group income protection

Death in service

Share matching 5%

Enhanced maternity/paternity leave

More benefits

Job summary

Saab UK in Bedford is seeking a Flight Test Engineer to coordinate the preparation and support of flight operations for unmanned aerial vehicles, bridging engineering and field testing to evaluate systems through test planning, flight execution, and data analysis.

Ideally you will act as UAV pilot, ensuring safety, compliance, and thorough reporting throughout the testing lifecycle; the role offers exposure to diverse defence tech and growing opportunities across UK sites.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience in uncrewed or crewed flight test operations, test card generation, and telemetry analysis.
• Practical experience and certification as a UAV pilot, capable of manual and autonomous flight operations.
• Strong analytical skills for interpreting complex flight data and translating it into engineering feedback.

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 required 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

Uncrewed flight test operations

UAV pilot certification

Telemetry analysis

Job description

Saab UK in Bedford is seeking a Flight Test Engineer to coordinate the preparation and support of flight operations for unmanned aerial vehicles, bridging engineering and field testing to evaluate systems through test planning, flight execution, and data analysis.

Ideally you will act as UAV pilot, ensuring safety, compliance, and thorough reporting throughout the testing lifecycle; the role offers exposure to diverse defence tech and growing opportunities across UK sites.