Senior UAV Flight Test Lead

InvestedintheMission; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 95,000 - 165,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive medical benefits

401(k) retirement plan

Equity grants

Unlimited PTO

Parental Leave

Job summary

Firestorm Labs is seeking a Senior Flight Test Engineer to lead development and execution of flight test programs for UAV platforms. You will manage test planning, instrumentation, data analysis, and cross-functional collaboration with autonomy, software, and hardware teams, ensuring safety and regulatory compliance.

You will conduct environmental stress tests, coordinate ground tests, and produced technical artifacts for internal development and customer deliverables, while shaping next-gen

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Robotics, or related field or equivalent hands-on experience
• Minimum 5 years as a flight test engineer with autonomous or remotely piloted systems
• U.S. Citizenship required due to ITAR regulations and ability to obtain DoD clearance
• Willingness to obtain FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate
• Experience with flight documentation, checklists, test cards, post-flight reports
• Experience collaborating with technical teams to assess system performance and reliability
• Ability to design, coordinate, and execute full lifecycle flight test programs
• Experience creating test procedures for system integration, performance evaluation, and regulatory compliance
• Proven skill in collecting and analyzing test data and recommending design changes
• Familiarity with FAA regs, military airspace, and UAS safety protocols
• Strong written and verbal communication; ability to present to cross-functional teams
• Proficiency with MS Office for documentation and SOPs

Responsibilities

• Lead developmental flight testing using sub-scale and full-scale UAVs
• Design and document environmental stress tests (vibration, thermal, etc.)
• Create flight test plans, test cards, and safety procedures
• Act as test conductor during flights and manage Go/No-Go decisions
• Coordinate ground tests for system validation and readiness reviews
• Analyze test data using DOE, regression analysis to drive decisions
• Build test setups, fixtures, and data acquisition tools
• Source and operate flight instrumentation ensuring data integrity
• Collaborate with autonomy, software, hardware teams to define tests
• Analyze post-flight data with MATLAB/Simulink or Python to identify trends
• Document flight squawks and ensure traceability
• Ensure instrumentation and sensors are flight-safe and compliant
• Conduct risk assessments and FAA/internal safety compliance
• Document test results and root-cause analyses for stakeholders
• Standardize test docs, tools, and processes across programs
• Coordinate with private/government ranges for testing and regulatory approvals

Skills

Strong communication

Cross-functional teamwork

Test planning

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Robotics, or related field

Tools

MATLAB

Simulink

Python

C++

Job description

Firestorm Labs is seeking a Senior Flight Test Engineer to lead development and execution of flight test programs for UAV platforms. You will manage test planning, instrumentation, data analysis, and cross-functional collaboration with autonomy, software, and hardware teams, ensuring safety and regulatory compliance.

You will conduct environmental stress tests, coordinate ground tests, and produced technical artifacts for internal development and customer deliverables, while shaping next-gen