Senior Flight Test Engineering Manager

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Job Summary:

Shield AI is a venture-backed defense technology company focused on protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. They are seeking a Flight Test Engineering Manager to lead and scale their flight test operations, overseeing a team of Flight Test Engineers and ensuring the safety and performance of advanced autonomous aircraft systems.

Responsibilities:

• Lead, mentor, and manage a team of 4–6 mission-driven Flight Test Engineers across multiple test sites and programs.

• Own the test strategy and execution for our V-BAT UAV and other autonomous platforms—from lab validation through full system flight test.

• Serve as the technical authority and Test Director for critical campaigns, overseeing test readiness, real-time mission execution, risk assessments, and safety protocols.

• Oversee detailed test plans, procedures, and schedules for developmental and operational flight testing.

• Collaborate cross-functionally with subsystem leads across autonomy, avionics, GNC, mechanical, and systems to define test objectives and translate them into executable plans.

• Establish and track performance metrics to optimize team efficiency and reduce test cycle time.

• Drive data-driven engineering by building out telemetry pipelines, post-flight analysis workflows, and robust reporting standards.

• Ensure adherence to all relevant safety and airworthiness processes, as well as FAA and DoD regulatory requirements.

• Approve and manage key test documentation including test plans, readiness reviews, hazard analyses, and final reports.

• Foster a culture of continuous improvement, operational excellence, and technical rigor in test methodology.

• Support verification and qualification efforts including SIL/HIL, FAT, and customer-facing documentation.

• Guide incident response and root cause analysis processes in the event of anomalies or failures.

• Represent the Flight Test team in technical reviews, leadership forums, and external stakeholder engagements.

Qualifications:

Required:

• Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, Electrical Engineering, or a related STEM field.

• 8+ years of system-level flight test experience, with at least 2+ years in a technical leadership or management role.

• Demonstrated ability to lead complex flight test programs for UAVs or autonomous aerospace systems.

• Experience with full-lifecycle test development—planning, execution, analysis, and reporting.

• Strong cross-functional collaboration and communication skills across engineering and operations teams.

• Working knowledge of flight instrumentation, telemetry systems, and post-processing tools.

• Experience with military or FAA-certified flight test environments is highly desirable.

• Excellent leadership, organizational, and decision-making skills.

Preferred:

• Proficiency in MATLAB, Python, or equivalent scripting for automation and analysis.

• Familiarity with MIL-STD-810, DO-160, or other aerospace test and qualification standards.

• Experience with UAS (uncrewed aircraft systems) or autonomy-heavy flight platforms.

• Operational knowledge of FAA Part 107 or experience as a UAV pilot.

• Familiarity with test range operations, safety-critical systems, and real-time mission decision-making.

• Background in early-stage prototyping, hardware bring-up, or field integration in high-growth environments.

• Ability to thrive in fast-paced, ambiguous environments with rapidly shifting priorities.

Company:

Shield AI is a deep-tech company that focuses on developing AI-powered systems to enhance the safety of service members and civilians. Founded in 2015, the company is headquartered in San Diego, California, USA, with a team of 501-1000 employees. The company is currently…