Senior Test & Validation Engineer - Autonomous Aircraft

Poseidon Aerospace; California; On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary and equity

Relocation support

Employee health benefit plans

6% retirement matching

Flexible PTO

Free lunches and snacks

AI tools and subscriptions

Job summary

Poseidon Aerospace is seeking a Senior Test and Validation Engineer to own hardware-in-the-loop, simulation architecture, and the validator framework. You will lead engineers and technicians, define test strategies, and drive qualification plans for flight systems.

You will build and oversee benches and real-time simulations, coordinating environments across ground and flight tests, enabling efficient, safe test campaigns for autonomous cargo aircraft.

Qualifications

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

Responsibilities

• Own the system test roadmap for component level, hardware-in-the-loop, ground test, and flight test.
• Architect and bring up hardware-in-the-loop benches with flight computers and sensors.
• Own the simulation infrastructure, including real-time simulation and model integration.
• Define the validator framework and release criteria before aircraft deployment.
• Design fault injection and rapid fault-finding campaigns from FMEA outcomes.
• Collaborate with flight software to define test-mode features for flight code.
• Translate mission profiles into qualification and life-test plans.
• Develop ways to reproduce flight loads on the ground and correlate to flight data.
• Develop health monitoring and anomaly detection from vehicle telemetry for test use.
• Lead environmental and durability test campaigns and external lab work.
• Present test evidence at flight readiness reviews and support certification.

Skills

Python

C/C++

Electrical troubleshooting

Leadership

Education

B.S. in electrical, mechanical, aerospace, or computer engineering

Tools

Speedgoat

dSPACE

NI hardware

Job description

Poseidon Aerospace is seeking a Senior Test and Validation Engineer to own hardware-in-the-loop, simulation architecture, and the validator framework. You will lead engineers and technicians, define test strategies, and drive qualification plans for flight systems.

You will build and oversee benches and real-time simulations, coordinating environments across ground and flight tests, enabling efficient, safe test campaigns for autonomous cargo aircraft.