Senior Flight Test Engineer – Swarm & Drones, Stock Options

Hardware FYI; Manassas (VA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working hours

Stock Options

Unlimited PTO

Health Insurance (includes dental &amp

Medical flex spending

Life Insurance

Retirement Plan – 401k with company 2

Enhanced maternity & paternity leave

Job summary

Auterion is seeking a Senior Flight Test Engineer to plan, execute, and report on air vehicle tests across VTOL, fixed-wing, quadcopter and FPV platforms. You will own test objectives, mentor junior pilots, and lead DoD and enterprise demonstrations.

The role emphasizes safety, regulatory knowledge, and hands-on drone expertise, with opportunities to work across Auterion hardware and software ecosystems.

Qualifications

• Technical degree in aerospace, mechatronics, robotics, mechanical, electrical or related field.
• Experience piloting UAS across Group 1–3 and swarms.
• Hands-on FPV piloting skills.
• Flight test experience in military/government UAS or equivalent.
• Drone building/repair experience (soldering, wiring, assembly).
• Ability to brief and communicate with warfighters and technical stakeholders.
• Knowledge of U.S. safety regulations for testing/flying UAS; FAA Part 107 cert required or obtainable; U.S. citizenship required.

Responsibilities

• Own Flight Test Planning and Execution across VTOL, fixed-wing, quadcopter and FPV platforms (Group 1–3).
• Rapidly master new platforms and document proficiency and procedures.
• Fly FPV operations for test, evaluation and demonstration.
• Plan and fly multi-vehicle swarm operations and analyze inter-vehicle communication.
• Collect, analyze and report data; translate results into actionable findings.
• Lead customer-facing demonstrations for DoD and enterprise stakeholders.
• Validate complete systems (aircraft, GCS, radios, payloads) including loss behavior.
• Liaise with engineering/product to convert requirements into test objectives; provide actionable feedback.
• Maintain and repair test vehicles and enforce safety across the team.
• Mentor junior pilots/engineers and set proficiency standards.
• Plan and run field campaigns and off-site deployments.
• Become subject-matter expert on Auterion hardware/software.

Skills

Multi-Platform Piloting

FPV Experience

Flight Test Experience

Drone Expertise

Customer Facing

PX4/QGC familiarity

Regulatory Readiness

Willing to travel

Education

Aerospace/Robotics Degree

Tools

PX4 ecosystem

QGroundControl

Auterion Mission Control

Flight log analysis tools

Job description

Auterion is seeking a Senior Flight Test Engineer to plan, execute, and report on air vehicle tests across VTOL, fixed-wing, quadcopter and FPV platforms. You will own test objectives, mentor junior pilots, and lead DoD and enterprise demonstrations.

The role emphasizes safety, regulatory knowledge, and hands-on drone expertise, with opportunities to work across Auterion hardware and software ecosystems.