Flight Test Engineer

Business Needs Inc; Paso Robles (CA); On-site; USD 95,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Scout AI seeks a Flight Test Engineer with 3+ years of experience operating and testing unmanned aerial systems to join our Mission Operations team in advancing Scout AI's autonomous aerial platforms. You will lead field flight tests that directly drive autonomy performance and mission readiness for defense deployments.

This hands-on role requires in-the-field work, troubleshooting complex systems, and producing clear, actionable reports to improve safety, reliability, and field readiness.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of experience operating and testing unmanned aerial systems.
• Design and execute structured flight test plans evaluating autonomy performance.
• Field testing including pre-flight inspections and airworthiness assessments.
• Analyze flight data and report findings with actionable recommendations.
• Troubleshoot hardware/software and payload/sensor integration in the field.

Responsibilities

• Design and execute structured flight test plans to evaluate autonomy performance, flight stability, navigation, and mission behaviors
• Operate UAS safely in real-world environments—pre-flight inspections, in-flight monitoring, post-flight analysis, and airworthiness assessments
• Collect, analyze, and document flight data; identify failures, edge cases, and performance gaps, then generate clear reports
• Troubleshoot hardware, software, and system-level issues in the field, including payload and sensor integration
• Support customer demonstrations and flight evaluations, ensuring systems are deployed and ready

Skills

Flight test planning

UAS operation

Data analysis

Troubleshooting

Customer demos

Tools

Ground Control Systems

Autonomy Software

EO/IR sensors

GPS

IMU

Flight Data Analysis

Job description

We are looking for a Flight Test Engineer with 3+ years of experience operating and testing unmanned aerial systems to join our Mission Operations team and accelerate the development of Scout AI's autonomous aerial platforms. You'll be a hands-on operator and evaluator, spending most of your time in the field at test ranges executing structured flight tests that directly drive autonomy performance and mission readiness. This is a high-impact role where your work ensures that intelligent machines are safe, reliable, and ready for real-world deployment in defense environments. If you thrive in dynamic outdoor settings, love troubleshooting complex systems, and want to see your contributions fielded on real platforms-this is the role for you.

What will you be doing?

• Design and execute structured flight test plans to evaluate autonomy performance, flight stability, navigation, and mission behaviors
• Operate UAS safely in real-world environments-handling pre-flight inspections, in-flight monitoring, post-flight analysis, and airworthiness assessments
• Collect, analyze, and document flight data; identify failures, edge cases, and performance gaps, then generate clear reports with actionable recommendations for engineering
• Troubleshoot hardware, software, and system-level issues in the field, including payload and sensor integration (EO/IR, GPS, IMU)
• Support customer demonstrations and flight evaluations, ensuring systems are professionally executed and deployment-ready

Tech stack

• UAS/Drone Platforms
• EO/IR Sensors
• GPS
• IMU
• Ground Control Systems
• Flight Data Analysis
• Autonomy Software