Flight Test Director for Autonomous Multi-Vehicle Systems

Shieldai; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Shield AI seeks a Flight Test Director to lead end‑to‑end testing of Hivemind AI Pilot capabilities on group 5 ACP systems. You will own test strategy, risk management, and multi‑aircraft coordination from development to field trials.

The role requires 15+ years in aviation test environments, strong leadership and communication, and ability to obtain a SECRET clearance. Cooperation with OEMs and government customers is essential.

Qualifications

• Typically requires 15+ years of experience with a Bachelor’s; or 14+ with a Master; or 12+ with a PhD; or equivalent experience.
• Demonstrated experience leading flight tests or large‑scale system integrations with test readiness and risk decisions.
• Strong background in full‑scale aviation test environments and aircraft integration.

Responsibilities

• Act as Test Director and technical lead for integration and flight test of Hivemind autonomy on ACP systems, coordinating multi‑aircraft scenarios.
• Own test strategy and execution across development lifecycle including SIL, HIL, simulation, and flight test environments.
• Plan and execute large‑scale flight test campaigns with cooperative autonomy and human‑machine teaming.
• Serve as final authority during mission autonomy test operations and approve test plans and execution flow.
• Coordinate cross‑functional teams across software, hardware, systems engineering, safety and leadership.
• Define mission‑level performance metrics and ensure traceability from requirements to test outcomes.

Skills

Python or similar

Test automation

Leadership

Communication

Risk management

Briefing to leadership

Education

Bachelor’s degree in STEM

Experience equal to 12+ years

Tools

Git

Jira/Azure DevOps

Job description

Shield AI seeks a Flight Test Director to lead end‑to‑end testing of Hivemind AI Pilot capabilities on group 5 ACP systems. You will own test strategy, risk management, and multi‑aircraft coordination from development to field trials.

The role requires 15+ years in aviation test environments, strong leadership and communication, and ability to obtain a SECRET clearance. Cooperation with OEMs and government customers is essential.