Flight Test Engineer

Poseidon Aerospace; California; On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary & equity

Relocation support

Health benefits

6% Retirement matching

Flexible PTO

Free lunches & snacks

AI tools access

Job summary

Poseidon Aerospace is seeking a seasoned Flight Test Engineer to lead planning, preparation, and execution of flight and ground test campaigns across our autonomous cargo aircraft platforms. You will bridge design engineering and real-world operations, taking vehicle platforms from labs to the flight line with a safety-first, structured approach.

You will collaborate with Avionics, Propulsion, and Flight Controls, develop test plans and FHA, analyze telemetry data with MATLAB/Python, and

Qualifications

• 5+ years as an experimental flight test engineer or aerospace validation.
• Bachelor’s Degree in related field or equivalent experience.
• Airplane familiarization across fixed-wing platforms.
• Proficiency in MATLAB, Python for processing flight-test data.
• Hands-on, outdoors at test ranges in varying weather conditions.

Responsibilities

• Develop flight test plans, tests cards, and FHA for autonomous aircraft systems.
• Act as Test Director during ground runs and envelope tests.
• Monitor and analyze real-time telemetry and flight-test data.
• Define requirements for flight test instrumentation and DAQ.
• Collaborate with Avionics, Propulsion, Flight Controls, and Structure teams.
• Lead pre-flight briefings and post-test debriefs to ensure safety.
• Write flight test reports documenting anomalies and performance metrics.

Skills

MATLAB

Python

Data analysis

Field testing

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor's Degree

Tools

DAQ systems

Telemetry hardware

Data visualization

Job description

About Poseidon Aerospace:

Poseidon Aerospace is reimagining how the world moves goods. We build and operate full-size autonomous cargo aircraft - capable of carrying two tons of payload over a thousand nautical miles. From remote communities to contested logistics operations, our platforms unlock a new cost curve for air freight, making it faster, cheaper, and accessible anywhere it's needed. Headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area with locations in Washington DC, Oregon, and Maine; we're building something consequential.

As a Flight Test Engineer at Poseidon Aerospace, you will lead the planning, preparation, and execution of flight and ground test campaigns across all Poseidon Aerospace flight platforms . You will bridge the gap between design engineering and real-world operations, taking full vehicle platforms from the laboratory environments straight to the flight line. This role requires a systems-level understanding of aircraft, a highly structured and safety-first approach to test execution, and the ability to analyze complex telemetry data into clear, actionable engineering results.

Responsibilities

• Test Planning & Coordination: Develop comprehensive flight test plans, test cards, and functional hazard analyses (FHA) for full-scale autonomous aircraft systems and subsystems.

• Flight Line Execution: Act as a Test Director or Responsible Engineer during ground runs, taxi tests, and envelope-expansion flight test events.

• Data & Telemetry Analysis: Monitor real-time telemetry during flights. Collect, process, and interpret flight test data using scripting tools to assess vehicle performance, stability, and control, overall system performance, engine performance, and fuel system performance.

• Instrumentation & Integration: Define requirements for and support the installation of flight test instrumentation (FTI), sensors (strain gauges, load cells, pitot-static systems), and data acquisition systems onboard the test assets.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner closely with Avionics, Propulsion, Flight Controls, and Structural design, Flight Sciences, and Airplane Configuration Design teams to define objective pass/fail validation criteria.

• Safety & Operations: Lead pre-flight briefings and post-test debriefs. Enforce strict safety protocols on the flight line, identifying operational risks and implementing rapid mitigation strategies.

• Reporting & Documentation: Maintain meticulous traceability between regulatory/design requirements and test results. Write formal flight test reports documenting system anomalies, performance metrics, and airworthiness findings.

Qualifications

• Experience: 5+ years as an experimental flight test engineer, or in aerospace systems validation, or in UAS/aviation flight operations.

• Education: Bachelor’s Degree in related field or equivalent experience

• Airplane Familiarization: Overall airplane-level familiarization, including aircraft operations and performance across fixed-wing platforms.

• Testing Rigor: Proven track record drafting detailed flight test cards, managing test configurations, and operating within highly structured flight test environments.

• Data Tools: Proficiency in MATLAB, Python, or similar languages for processing, reducing, and visualizing large flight-log datasets.

• Systems Familiarity: Strong foundational knowledge of data acquisition systems (DAQ), telemetry hardware, and sensor calibration.

• Field Readiness: Hands-on problem solver comfortable troubleshooting complex electrical, mechanical, or software anomalies on the flight line. Willingness to work outdoors at active test ranges under varying weather conditions.

Bonus points for

• FAA Part 107 remote pilot certificate or a private pilot’s license (PPL).

• Experience making aviation-standard VHF radio calls and communicating clearly in high-workload control room environments.

• Background working with heavy or large-scale remotely operated vehicles / autonomous systems (Group 3-5 UAS).

• Familiarity with FAA experimental certification processes, airworthiness standards, or military test protocols (MIL-STD).

• Basic CAD experience for designing simple test brackets, fixtures, or harness layouts.

What you get from us

• Competitive salary and meaningful early-stage equity

• Relocation support if applicable

• Employee Health Benefit Plans

• 6% Retirement matching

• Flexible PTO

• Free lunches, snacks, and a stocked fridge at our offices

• AI tools and subscriptions