Senior Flight Test & Validation Engineer — Simulation

Hardware FYI; Alameda, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

competitive salary and meaningful long

Relocation support

Employee Health Benefit Plans

6% Retirement matching

Flexible PTO

Free meals & snacks

AI tools and subscriptions

Early-stage equity

Job summary

Poseidon Aerospace seeks a Senior Test and Validation Engineer to own ground, bench, and flight test strategy for autonomous cargo aircraft. You will design HWIL benches, integrate flight computers, actuators, sensors, and power systems, and drive validated release criteria for flight.

You’ll mentor engineers, shape the validation framework, and guide fault-injection campaigns across programs. You will collaborate with flight software, simulate models, and ensure test coverage aligns with

Qualifications

• B.S. in electrical, mechanical, aerospace, or computer engineering, or related field, or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years testing complex electromechanical or embedded systems on aircraft, spacecraft, automotive, or comparable vehicles.
• Architected and brought up a hardware-in-the-loop or system test capability from scratch.
• Owned the test strategy for a hardware and software program through to fielded operation or flight.
• Planned and ran environmental, durability, or reliability test campaigns that changed engineering decisions.
• Strong software skills in Python and C or C++.
• Strong electrical troubleshooting skills across embedded computers, actuation, power, and communications.
• Led test engineers or technicians

Responsibilities

• Own the system test roadmap and the strategy for what is tested at component level, in hardware-in-the-loop, in ground test, and in flight test.
• Architect and bring up hardware-in-the-loop benches with flight computers, actuators, sensors, and power hardware in the loop.
• Own the simulation infrastructure, including software-in-the-loop, real-time simulation, and integration of models from GNC and flight sciences.
• Define the validator framework and the criteria a software or hardware release must meet before it goes on the aircraft.
• Design fault injection and rapid fault-finding campaigns driven by the vehicle failure mode analysis.
• Work with flight software to define the test-mode features needed in flight code.
• Turn mission profiles into qualification and life-test plans, including stress levels and test duration.
• Develop new ways to reproduce flight loads and environments on the ground, and correlate test conditions to flight data.
• Develop health monitoring and anomaly detection from vehicle telemetry for use in test and on the aircraft.
• Lead environmental and durability test campaigns, including outside test labs.
• Present test evidence at flight readiness reviews and support certification evidence.
• Lead root cause investigations on faults found in test.
• Lead and mentor test engineers and technicians

Skills

Python

C/C++

Electrical troubleshooting

Leadership

Education

Bachelor's in Electrical/Mechanical/Aerospace/CS engineering

Tools

Speedgoat

dSPACE

NI

Job description

Poseidon Aerospace seeks a Senior Test and Validation Engineer to own ground, bench, and flight test strategy for autonomous cargo aircraft. You will design HWIL benches, integrate flight computers, actuators, sensors, and power systems, and drive validated release criteria for flight.

You’ll mentor engineers, shape the validation framework, and guide fault-injection campaigns across programs. You will collaborate with flight software, simulate models, and ensure test coverage aligns with