Senior UAS Flight Test & Assurance Engineer

Our client, a leader in the aerospace sector, is seeking a Senior UAS Flight Test & Assurance Engineer to join their innovative team. This permanent role focuses on flight-test planning, test execution, assurance evidence generation, operational approval support, and the potential for future leadership in Verification & Validation (V&V).

• Supporting the planning and delivery of UAS ground-test, integration-test and flight-test campaigns
• Developing and maintaining test plans, test cards, procedures, readiness reviews, risk controls, and post-test reports
• Translating regulatory, operational approval, SORA/SAIL, CS-21, safety and system requirements into practical test and assurance evidence
• Working with regulatory and airspace integration leads to identify applicable requirements and support regulator-facing technical discussions
• Coordinating strategy for test and assurance plans, while driving execution across campaigns
• Supporting logistics, site readiness, equipment planning, test asset preparation, and operational coordination for flight-test deployments
• Driving assurance of complex technical mitigations, including software-enabled functions, detect-and-avoid, collision-risk modelling, and autonomy-related safety claims
• Identifying practical COTS systems, tools, sensors, software, ground systems, or test capabilities that may satisfy technical assurance needs faster, cheaper or with lower integration risk
• Supporting the creation of evidence needed for operational approvals, technical risk closure, safety cases, and future certification maturity
• Working closely with engineering, safety, software, regulatory and flight-operations teams to ensure test activity produces credible, traceable, and usable evidence
• Building scalable validation and verification practices that can grow from SAIL 2 activity towards SAIL 6 and CS-21-stage programme requirements

• Strong background in flight test, test engineering, UAS operations, aerospace systems engineering, aviation assurance, airworthiness or safety-critical systems testing
• Practical understanding of test planning, test execution, readiness reviews, hazard controls, evidence generation, and technical risk closure
• Comfortable working in field-test environments, not just office-based planning
• Able to read, interpret, and apply aviation regulatory material, operational approval requirements, and technical standards
• Strong ability to turn requirements, hazards, and assurance needs into executable test activities
• Able to engage credibly with internal specialists, regulators, operators, and technical stakeholders
• High agency, strong judgement, and willingness to work flexibly in an early-stage programme
• Clear written communication and disciplined approach to test evidence, configuration, and reporting

• Experience with UAS, HAPS, HALE, autonomous aircraft, eVTOL, defence aviation, novel aircraft or flight-test programmes
• Familiarity with SORA, SAIL, CAA/EASA environments, CS-21 or equivalent aviation certification, and operational approval processes
• Experience with detect-and-avoid, autonomy assurance, collision-risk modelling, simulation, safety cases, or software-enabled safety functions
• Experience identifying, integrating, or evaluating COTS systems to meet assurance, test, or operational approval needs
• Previous involvement in building a V&V, test, flight-test or assurance function within a growing programme

• Opportunity to work on cutting-edge aerospace projects
• Professional development and career growth prospects
• Collaborative and innovative work environment
• Comprehensive employee benefits package

If you are a talented engineer with significant experience in flight test and assurance, looking for a challenging and rewarding opportunity in a leading aerospace company, we would love to hear from you. Apply now to join our client's dynamic team.