Head of Flight Test Engineer

Samsonrose; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

We are seeking a Head of Flight Test Engineering to guide validation of next‑generation autonomous aircraft operating in real‑world environments. This is a highly visible technical leadership role, shaping flight test strategy, test campaigns, and the automation infrastructure ensuring safe, reliable commercial deployment.

The candidate will lead a world‑class flight test organization, mentor engineers, and contribute hands‑on to testing architecture, safety assessments, and release decisions

Qualifications

• 5+ years designing, developing, validating, or testing autonomous, robotic, or safety-critical systems.
• Experience leading Flight Test, Systems Test, Validation, or Field Test Engineering teams while remaining hands-on.
• Proven track record of leading test campaigns from objective definition through planning, execution, analysis, and release recommendations.
• Strong systems-level understanding across software, embedded, electrical, mechanical, controls, and regulatory requirements.

Responsibilities

• Define flight test strategy and objectives for next‑gen autonomous aircraft.
• Oversee complex flight test campaigns and data analysis pipelines.
• Lead test architecture, automation, and validation infrastructure for reliable releases.
• Assess safety considerations and regulatory compliance during validation and release decisions.
• Communicate engineering risks and tradeoffs to stakeholders, including leadership and regulators.

Skills

Flight test leadership

Autonomous systems

Test automation

Cross-functional leadership

Safety-critical systems

Job description

An innovative autonomous aviation company has engaged us to find a Head of Flight Test Engineer to drive the validation of next-generation autonomous aircraft operating in real-world environments. This is a highly visible technical leadership role where you'll lead flight test strategy, oversee complex test campaigns, and help shape the processes, automation, and infrastructure that ensure safe and reliable commercial deployment. You'll work at the intersection of aerospace, robotics, autonomy, and safety-critical systems, influencing how cutting-edge autonomous aircraft are tested, validated, and released.

A bit about the company:

• Strategic Growth Stage: The company is scaling its autonomous delivery platform globally and expanding its engineering organization to support commercial operations. This is an opportunity to join a high-performing team building technology that is already making a real-world impact while helping shape the future of autonomous aviation.
• Mission-Driven Innovation: The company is redefining logistics by building autonomous aircraft and intelligent delivery networks capable of transporting critical goods safely and efficiently. Their technology combines advanced robotics, autonomy, software, and aviation to solve complex transportation challenges at scale.
• Career Opportunities: This is an opportunity to lead a world-class flight test organization while remaining deeply technical. You'll mentor and grow an experienced engineering team while contributing hands-on to test architecture, automation, systems validation, safety assessments, and release decisions. The role offers exceptional exposure across autonomous systems, aerospace engineering, robotics, software, operations, and regulatory compliance.

We're looking for someone who has:

• 5+ years of experience designing, developing, validating, or testing complex autonomous, robotic, aerospace, aviation, or other safety-critical systems (UAS experience is strongly preferred).
• Experience leading Flight Test, Systems Test, Validation, or Field Test Engineering teams while remaining technically hands-on.
• A proven track record of leading test campaigns from objective definition through planning, execution, analysis, and release recommendations.
• Strong systems-level understanding across software, embedded systems, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, controls, operations, and regulatory requirements.
• Experience developing or integrating test automation, analytics tools, data pipelines, or scalable validation systems that improve test coverage and engineering efficiency.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to explain safety considerations, engineering risks, and technical tradeoffs to engineers, operators, executives, and regulatory stakeholders.
• Willingness to travel domestically, with occasional international travel, to support flight testing, site operations, and team leadership.