Assistant Manager – Flight Test & Operations Safety

The ePlane Company; Chennai District; On-site; INR 1,200,000 - 1,800,000; Full time

Job summary

The ePlane Company is seeking an experienced Assistant Manager to lead operational risk management on the flight line, ground test rigs, and during experimental flight test campaigns. You will drive safety evaluations and ensure compliance with flight-test procedures.

You will coordinate emergency response planning, establish SOPs for active engine runs, and mentor ground crews and test engineers in pre-flight safety practices, incident investigation, and corrective actions to continually

Qualifications

• Must hold a B.E./B.Tech in Aerospace, Aeronautical, or Mechanical Engineering or equivalent in Military aviation.
• Minimum 5+ years in airfield operations, experimental aircraft flight testing, or flight line safety.
• Preferred experience in experimental flight test safety management, drone/eVTOL test bed oversight, or military flight line operations.

Responsibilities

• Lead pre-flight safety risk assessments and hazard evaluations for ground rig runs, tethered tests, and experimental flight sorties.
• Establish flight-line standard operating procedures (SOPs), clearance zones, and safe perimeters during active engine or propulsion runs.
• Coordinate flight-line emergency response teams, Crash Fire Rescue (CFR) protocols, and airfield emergency response strategies.
• Conduct flight safety briefings for ground crews, pilots/operators, and test engineers prior to test execution.
• Investigate flight operations near-misses or incidents and implement corrective action reports to enhance operational safety.

Skills

Flight-line hazard evaluation

Pre-flight safety risk assessments

Ground test rig safety

Airfield crash rescue coordination

Emergency preparedness

Operational Risk Management

Human factors evaluation

Telemetry monitoring procedures

Safety briefing execution

Education

B.E./B.Tech in Aerospace/Aeronautical/Mechanical Engineering

Job description

The Assistant Manager - Flight Test & Flight Operations Safety will lead operational risk management on the flight line, ground test rigs (iron-bird/tethered), and during experimental flight test campaigns.

Qualifications & Skills

• Mandatory Qualifications: B.E./B.Tech in Aerospace, Aeronautical, or Mechanical Engineering or equivalent qualification/experience in Military aviation. Certification in Aviation Incident Investigation is highly desirable.
• Mandatory Experience: 5+ years in airfield operations, experimental aircraft flight testing, or flight line ground operations safety.
• Preferred Experience: Experience in experimental flight test safety management, drone/eVTOL test bed oversight, or military flight line operations.
• Primary Skills: Flight-line hazard evaluation, pre-flight safety risk assessments, ground test rig safety (iron-bird/tethered setups), airfield crash rescue coordination, emergency preparedness.
• Secondary Skills: Operational Risk Management (ORM), human factors evaluation, telemetry monitoring procedures, safety briefing execution.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead pre-flight safety risk assessments and hazard evaluations for ground rig runs, tethered tests, and experimental flight sorties.
• Establish flight-line standard operating procedures (SOPs), clearance zones, and safe perimeters during active engine or propulsion runs.
• Coordinate flight-line emergency response teams, Crash Fire Rescue (CFR) protocols, and airfield emergency response strategies.
• Conduct flight safety briefings for ground crews, pilots/operators, and test engineers prior to test execution.
• Investigate flight operations near-misses or incidents and implement corrective action reports to enhance operational safety.