Autonomous Cargo Aircraft Flight Test Engineer

Poseidon Aerospace; Alameda (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Relocation

Health benefits

Retirement matching

Flexible PTO

Free meals/snacks

AI tools

Job summary

Poseidon Aerospace in the San Francisco Bay Area seeks a Flight Test Engineer to plan, prepare, and execute flight and ground test campaigns for our autonomous cargo aircraft. You will bridge design engineering and operations, developing test plans, coordinating with Avionics, Propulsion, and Flight Controls teams, and analyzing telemetry to ensure safety and performance.

The ideal candidate has 5+ years of experience, a Bachelor’s degree, and proficiency in MATLAB/Python with DAQ/telemetry

Qualifications

• 5+ years in experimental flight test or aerospace validation.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.
• Airplane-level familiarity across fixed-wing platforms.
• Proven ability to draft flight test cards and manage test configurations.
• Proficiency in MATLAB or Python for data processing.
• Strong knowledge of DAQ, telemetry, and sensor calibration.
• Willingness to work outdoors at test ranges.

Responsibilities

• Develop comprehensive flight test plans, test cards, and FHA for full-scale autonomous aircraft systems.
• Act as Test Director or Responsible Engineer during ground runs, taxi tests, and envelope-expansion tests.
• Monitor real-time telemetry and analyze flight-test data to assess performance and safety margins.
• Define requirements for flight test instrumentation and data acquisition onboard test assets.
• Collaborate with Avionics, Propulsion, Flight Controls, and Structural teams to set pass/fail criteria.
• Lead pre-flight briefings, post-test debriefs, and maintain traceability between requirements and results.

Skills

Flight test exp

Bachelor's degree

Airplane familiarity

Testing discipline

MATLAB/Python

DAQ/Telemetry

Field troubleshooting

Education

Bachelor's Degree

Tools

DAQ systems

Telemetry hardware

Sensors calibration

Job description

Poseidon Aerospace in the San Francisco Bay Area seeks a Flight Test Engineer to plan, prepare, and execute flight and ground test campaigns for our autonomous cargo aircraft. You will bridge design engineering and operations, developing test plans, coordinating with Avionics, Propulsion, and Flight Controls teams, and analyzing telemetry to ensure safety and performance.

The ideal candidate has 5+ years of experience, a Bachelor’s degree, and proficiency in MATLAB/Python with DAQ/telemetry