Flight Test Engineer – UAS Autonomy & Field Performance

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

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.