Autonomous Flight Test Engineer – Real-World Impact

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

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Relocation support

Health benefits

6% retirement matching

Flexible PTO

Free meals and snacks

AI tools and subscriptions

Job summary

Poseidon Aerospace is seeking a Flight Test Engineer to lead planning, preparation, and execution of flight and ground test campaigns for our autonomous cargo aircraft platforms. The role bridges design engineering with real-world operations, requiring a systems-level understanding of aircraft and a safety-first approach to testing.

You will work with cross-functional teams to define objective pass/fail criteria, analyze telemetry data, and report airworthiness findings.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in related field or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years as an experimental flight test engineer or aerospace validation.
• Airplane familiarization including fixed-wing operations.
• Proven track record drafting detailed flight test cards and managing test configurations.
• Proficiency in MATLAB, Python, or similar languages for flight-log data processing.
• Knowledge of DAQ, telemetry hardware, and sensor calibration.
• Hands-on problem solving on the flight line in varying weather.

Responsibilities

• Test Planning & Coordination: develop flight test plans, test cards, FHA for autonomous aircraft systems.
• Flight Line Execution: act as Test Director during ground runs and envelope-expansion tests.
• Data & Telemetry Analysis: monitor telemetry, collect and interpret flight data to assess performance.
• Instrumentation & Integration: define requirements for FTI, sensors, and data acquisition systems.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: work with Avionics, Propulsion, Flight Controls, and structure teams to define criteria.
• Safety & Operations: lead pre-flight and post-test briefings, enforce safety protocols.
• Reporting & Documentation: maintain traceability and write flight test reports.

Skills

Flight test planning

Telemetry data analysis

Data acquisition systems

MATLAB

Python

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in related field

Tools

DAQ hardware

Telemetry systems

CAD (basic)

Job description

Poseidon Aerospace is seeking a Flight Test Engineer to lead planning, preparation, and execution of flight and ground test campaigns for our autonomous cargo aircraft platforms. The role bridges design engineering with real-world operations, requiring a systems-level understanding of aircraft and a safety-first approach to testing.

You will work with cross-functional teams to define objective pass/fail criteria, analyze telemetry data, and report airworthiness findings.