UAV Flight Test & Validation Engineer (Field‑Based)

Extantia; Leeds; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Flexible work options

Job summary

AssetCool is seeking a UAV Flight Test & Validation Engineer to own end‑to‑end testing of in‑house UAV systems in the UK. You’ll define test strategies, lead indoor/outdoor campaigns and ensure decisions are supported by traceable evidence.

You will work at the intersection of propulsion, flight control, navigation, autonomy and regulatory compliance, with field duties across sites and testing environments.

Qualifications

• A degree in aerospace, avionics, control, robotics or a related discipline.
• Proven hands-on experience testing, operating and troubleshooting multirotor or other UAS in real flight environments.
• Strong practical expertise with PX4 and ArduPilot across the full workflow: airframe setup, calibration, parameters, flight modes and logs.
• Good understanding of navigation, sensor fusion and EKF diagnostics.
• Ability to analyse logs and turn test data into engineering conclusions.
• Willingness to travel to test sites and work outdoors in changing conditions.

Responsibilities

• Own the UAV verification and validation lifecycle including test strategies, traceability, plans and acceptance criteria.
• Plan and lead indoor and outdoor test campaigns and coordinate sites, crew and weather.
• Design experiments to characterise performance, endurance, handling, robustness and fault behaviour.
• Configure PX4/ArduPilot end-to-end: airframe setup, parameters, modes, failsafes and telemetry.
• Diagnose faults across subsystems: propulsion, flight control, navigation, sensors.
• Develop test methods, rigs and SITL/HITL testing where appropriate.
• Maintain test records, baselines, logs and evidence for sign-off.
• Support regulatory compliance and certification with auditable evidence.

Skills

UAV testing

Flight test planning

Autonomy algorithms

Regulatory knowledge

Diagnostics

Field work

Teamwork

Education

Bachelor's degree in aerospace/avionics/robotics

Tools

PX4

ArduPilot

QGroundControl

Mission Planner

MAVLink

Python

MATLAB

Job description

AssetCool is seeking a UAV Flight Test & Validation Engineer to own end‑to‑end testing of in‑house UAV systems in the UK. You’ll define test strategies, lead indoor/outdoor campaigns and ensure decisions are supported by traceable evidence.

You will work at the intersection of propulsion, flight control, navigation, autonomy and regulatory compliance, with field duties across sites and testing environments.