Flight Test Engineer, Jr level

This Junior-level Flight Test Engineer role supports ground and flight testing for aircraft modification programs, assisting with test planning, data acquisition, flight test monitoring, data reduction, and preparation of engineering reports. Working under senior engineers, the role coordinates with pilots, design engineers, and program teams to ensure aircraft systems meet performance, safety, and certification requirements. The position involves preparing aircraft for testing, developing test cards, and supporting certification and regulatory compliance activities.

Responsibilities

• Test & Certification Support: Assist with the development of flight test plans for performance, flight characteristics, systems, envelope expansion, certification, and operational test programs.
• Regulatory Compliance: Support certification planning and regulatory compliance activities in coordination with engineering specialists and subject matter experts.
• Instrumentation Setup: Define instrumentation requirements, including data parameters, ranges, accuracy, and sampling rates.
• Aircraft Preparation: Prepare aircraft for testing, maintain test aircraft configuration control, and support conformity inspections, weight and balance control, and airworthiness evaluations.
• Test Cards & Briefings: Prepare flight test cards and assist in conducting pre- and post-test briefings for ground and flight test events.
• Flight Operations Support: Support the operation of test aircraft during baseline, development, envelope expansion, and certification flight test programs to collect engineering data.
• Safety & Risk Management: Apply company safety, risk identification, and risk management procedures across all assigned test programs.
• Program Tracking: Track test-point progress and provide clear status updates to program management as requested.
• Cross-Functional Coordination: Coordinate flight test support with maintenance personnel, remote sites, contractors, subcontractors, vendors, and airworthiness authorities.

Requirements

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, or Electrical Engineering, Mathematics, Physics, or a closely related technical field.
• Experience: Minimum of 2 years of direct flight test engineering experience.
• Medical: Ability to obtain and maintain an FAA Class III Medical Certificate.
• Technical Foundations: Strong understanding of aerodynamics, flight mechanics, aircraft systems, propulsion, and engineering analysis/testing methods.
• Data Analysis: Experience with aircraft performance, flight characteristics, systems testing, flight test instrumentation, and data acquisition systems; ability to analyze and interpret test data using engineering tools.
• Regulatory Awareness: Foundational knowledge of aircraft certification processes and FAA, military, or customer regulatory requirements.
• Core Skills: Strong math, physics, and technical problem-solving skills, with the ability to prioritize and organize assignments across multiple programs.
• Security Clearance: Must be a U.S. citizen capable of obtaining and maintaining a Department of Defense Secret clearance.
• Travel & Schedule: Willingness to travel domestically and internationally up to 20% to customer sites, hangars, and test locations; willingness to work overtime during active flight test windows.
• Software: Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).

Nice to have

• Background in aviation airframe modifications or the aerospace industry.
• Prior DoD or military flight test environment exposure.
• Experience with data acquisition systems, telemetry, instrumentation, and engineering tools (e.g., MATLAB, Python, Dewesoft).
• Fixed-wing flight test or operation experience.
• Licensed Private Pilot.

Benefits

• Industry-competitive compensation package
• Company performance-based bonus plan
• Equity stock-based compensation package
• Employer-funded comprehensive health, vision, and dental insurance for employees and dependents
• 401k with company match
• PTO & holiday pay
• Employer-funded life and disability insurance coverages