Flight Test Engineer

Heven AeroTech; Bingen (WA); On-site; USD 105,000 - 135,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Retirement plans

Paid time off

Job summary

Heven AeroTech in the United States is seeking a Flight Test Engineer to plan, execute, and analyze ground and flight tests for prototype vehicles and subsystems. You will own end‑to‑end test events, generate documentation, and ensure results withstand technical and safety reviews.

The role emphasizes hands-on testing, discipline in data quality, and strong collaboration with Flight Test Engineering and cross‑functional teams. English proficiency is required and visa sponsorship is not provided.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering (mechanical, electrical, systems, aerospace, or related).
• 3–7 years of flight/test engineering experience, including test card development.
• Ability to plan, execute, and report on test events with limited supervision.
• Understanding of vehicle performance, stability and flight mechanics.
• Proficiency with MATLAB and/or Python for data processing.

Responsibilities

• Develop flight and ground test plans, test cards, and procedures.
• Define test objectives, data requirements, and success criteria with cross‑functional teams.
• Lead test readiness activities including instrumentation checks and test article conformity.
• Maintain traceability between requirements, procedures, and results.
• Coordinate field operations as test conductor or engineer, with robust logging and safety focus.
• Plan and execute envelope build‑up and expansion with safety‑minded discipline.
• Perform post‑test data reduction and analysis, producing actionable results.

Skills

Test planning

Data analysis

Documentation

Communication

Team collaboration

Field testing

Matlab

Python

Experimentation

Education

Bachelor’s degree in engineering

Tools

MATLAB

Python

Instrumentation & data acquisition

Job description

About Our Company:

At Heven AeroTech (Heven), we don’t just believe in the power of people—we build our success on it. As a recognized leader in hydrogen-powered drones, we’ve earned recognition for creating a workplace where innovation thrives, collaboration is second nature, and every employee feels valued. Our culture is anchored in trust and a shared commitment to excellence.

We believe great teams are built on individuals who are humble, hungry, and smart—those who put team success first, take initiative to continuously improve, and demonstrate strong interpersonal awareness. At Heven, your voice matters, your ideas are heard, and your contributions make a tangible impact as you grow through hands‑on experience and collaboration across the team.

Role Summary:

The Flight Test Engineer plans, executes, and analyzes ground and flight tests for prototype and pre‑production vehicles and their subsystems. This role also contributes to broader engineering analysis by linking vehicle and configuration changes to updated performance and dynamics predictions, modeling and simulation outputs, and verification evidence.

This is an experienced individual‑contributor position that works closely with Flight Test Engineering and cross‑functional Engineering teams. The Flight Test Engineer independently owns discrete test events end to end, exercises sound engineering judgment in the field, and produces test documentation and analysis that withstands technical and safety review.

Success in this role requires a hungry mindset—proactively seeking the next step, anticipating needs in test execution and analysis, and continuously improving technical contributions. It also requires humility, with a focus on team success, sharing credit, and learning from others. Strong interpersonal awareness is essential to collaborate effectively across disciplines, communicate clearly, and operate in dynamic test environments.

In addition to flight test responsibilities, this role supports broader engineering efforts including performance and stability assessments, modeling and simulation, and translating configuration changes into testable predictions and

• Develop flight and ground test plans, test cards, and test procedures; identify gaps, dependencies, and next steps ahead of the schedule rather than in reaction to it
• Define test objectives, success criteria, and data requirements in collaboration with cross‑functional teams, emphasizing shared ownership and team success
• Lead test readiness activities, including configuration verification, instrumentation checks, test article conformity, and pre‑brief and debrief documentation
• Own traceability between requirements, test procedures, and test results, maintaining disciplined and organized documentation
• Serve as a test conductor or test engineer for on‑site operations (field site and/or control room), including checklists, configuration checks, coordination with operators and maintainers, and disciplined test logging, while demonstrating strong situational awareness and sound judgment
• Plan and execute envelope build‑up and expansion activities, approaching work with diligence and a safety‑first mindset
• Execute ground and bench testing to retire risk prior to flight, consistently looking for opportunities to improve efficiency and effectiveness
• Specify, set up, and validate instrumentation, sensors, data acquisition, and telemetry, ensuring data quality and completeness
• Perform post‑test data reduction and analysis using MATLAB and/or Python, producing clear, accurate, and actionable results
• Author test reports and presentations documenting setup, procedures, results, anomalies, and follow‑up actions, while appropriately recognizing team contributions
• Update analysis and prediction models when vehicle or system configurations change
• Perform or coordinate performance, stability, and control analysis using the modeling and simulation tools appropriate to the vehicle and test objectives
• Support weight, center of gravity, and static stability analysis
• Use modeling and simulation outputs to inform performance predictions, stability and control expectations, and pre‑test planning
• Correlate predictions to test data and clearly communicate discrepancies, root causes, and recommended actions for engineering review
• Plan and execute integration testing of avionics, control systems, sensors, data links, and payload interfaces, leading structured troubleshooting efforts
• Drive verification and validation activities by collecting test evidence and maintaining organized, auditable artifacts
• Own discrepancy tracking and resolution in collaboration with Engineering, Quality, and Manufacturing teams, demonstrating humility, accountability, and strong teamwork
• Contribute to test safety reviews, hazard analyses, and risk mitigation planning for test events
• Mentor junior engineers and technicians on test discipline, data quality, and documentation standards
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications & Experience:

Required:

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering (mechanical, electrical, systems, aerospace, or a closely related technical discipline), or equivalent demonstrated experience
• 3–7 years of relevant experience in flight test, ground test, or complex systems test engineering, including test card development, hands‑on test execution, post‑test analysis
• Demonstrated ability to plan, execute, and report on test events with limited supervision
• Working understanding of vehicle performance, stability and control, and flight mechanics, or an equivalent depth of test engineering fundamentals in a related dynamic‑systems domain
• Proficiency performing engineering analysis and data processing using MATLAB and/or Python
• Working knowledge of instrumentation, data acquisition, and measurement quality, including calibration, sample rates, and sources of measurement error
• Strong attention to detail and commitment to high‑quality documentation
• Clear written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively across teams and brief results to technical and non‑technical audiences
• Professional working proficiency in English (spoken and written) is required to perform the responsibilities of this role.
• This position is not eligible for visa sponsorship. Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States without employer sponsorship, now or in the future.
• If this role requires access to information controlled under U.S. export control laws (ITAR/EAR), applicants must also qualify as a “U.S. person” under 22 CFR §120.62 (U.S. citizen, U.S. national, lawful permanent resident, or protected individual such as an asylee or refugee).

Preferred:

• Familiarity with autopilot and ground control station ecosystems (Applied Navigation Quattro/QET, ArduPilot, PX4, or similar)
• Experience serving as test conductor or safety officer for field test operations
• Exposure to GNSS performance evaluation, including degraded or contested environments
• Exposure to automated or vision‑based landing evaluation
• Experience with modeling and simulation tools relevant to vehicle performance and dynamics (six‑degree‑of‑freedom simulation, vortex lattice methods, CFD, FEA, or equivalent)
• Familiarity with requirements traceability and verification and validation practices
• Familiarity with ADS‑B, detect‑and‑avoid, and airspace integration considerations for uncrewed systems testing
• Experience with test instrumentation design and integration on space‑and‑weight‑constrained platforms
• FAA Part 107 certification or equivalent operational credentials
• Experience working in multidisciplinary engineering teams in a rapid development environment

Physical Requirements:

• Organized, proactive, and able to manage multiple priorities while maintaining rigor and discipline
• Willing and able to perform field work (standing and walking for extended periods, carrying equipment, working outdoors in varying conditions)
• Willing to travel as needed for test events
• Ability to support flexible hours based on test schedules

Benefits Overview:

Heven AeroTech offers a competitive benefits package designed to support the health, financial security, and overall well‑being of our employees and their families. Benefits in protectional, dental, and vision coverage, retirement plans, paid time off/sick, and additional protections such as critical illness, hospital indemnity, accident coverage, and short‑and‑long‑term disability.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement:

Heven AeroTech is an Equal Opportunity Employer and considers all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.

Posted Salary Range:

$105,000 - $135,000 USD

Voluntary Self‑Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self‑identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiringprocess or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in aconfidential file.

As set forth in Heven AeroTech’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection.As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measurethe effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categoriesis as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service‑connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three‑year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.