Firestorm Labs
Senior Flight Test Engineer
$95K–$165K
San Diego, United States · On-site · Senior · Full-time · Posted Jul 10, 2026
- Experience
- Minimum 5 years; preferred 7+ years. Preferred: 2+ years of RPIC experience.
- Education
- Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Robotics, or a related field; equivalent hands-on experience may be substituted.
- Visa sponsorship
- U.S. citizenship is required due to ITAR regulations and the ability to obtain and maintain a Department of Defense security clearance. Export-control eligibility also includes lawful permanent residents, protected individuals, or others eligible to obtain required authorizations.
About the job
Leads flight and ground testing to validate and mature Firestorm’s UAV platforms, analyze results, and support safe system development and customer deliverables.
What you'll do
- Design and lead flight and ground test plans, readiness reviews, briefs, and flight events while enforcing safety procedures.
- Integrate instrumentation and data systems; collect and analyze test data, identify anomalies, and document findings and corrective actions.
- Coordinate testing with engineering teams and external test ranges, including regulatory approvals and flight safety compliance.
What they ask for
- Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Robotics, or a related field, or equivalent hands-on experience.
- Minimum 5 years of flight test engineering experience, emphasizing autonomous or remotely piloted systems.
- U.S. citizenship and ability to obtain and maintain a Department of Defense (DoD) security clearance; willingness to obtain a FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate.
- Experience designing and executing full lifecycle flight test programs, including planning, instrumentation, test procedures, data analysis, and reporting.
Nice to have
- 7+ years of flight test engineering experience; 2+ years of RPIC experience.
- Experience with defense or military flight testing, FAA certification test plans, MATLAB, Simulink, Python, flight instrumentation, or Design of Experiments (DOE).
Pay
$95,000 - $165,000 USD (base salary)
Tools
MATLAB, Simulink, Python, C++, Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word, Outlook, PowerPoint)
Model-written summary · the original posting is authoritative