UAS Production Engineer

Description

Statement to Applicants:
This position is unable to accommodate sponsorship.

Central UAS Technologies, a vertical of Central Life Sciences, is dedicated to the creation of uncrewed aerial systems which have a direct positive impact on public health, quality of life and innovative technologies for the agricultural industry. Your meaningful work will help reduce the spread of vector-borne disease, as well as limit the amount of chemicals or emissions released into the environment (through rural and urban municipalities, agricultural applications, horticultural applications, and more!).

You’ll accomplish this work from our assembly shop in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Our parent company is Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ: CENT and CENTA); we offer an amazing educational assistance program in addition to great medical, dental, vision, which you will be eligible the first of the month following 30 days, plus free life and free disability insurance. Our 401k has a 3% match, and you are eligible day one. We also offer pet insurance and other voluntary benefits.

Please see our website at  for additional company information.

The UAS Engineer – Production Line is the final technical authority on system configuration, integration, and readiness for flight. They perform firmware loading, system level verification, and configuration validation, and hold release to flight authority for production aircraft. This role is the key gatekeeper between production and flight test, ensuring that only conforming, airworthy systems progress.

• Oversee the loading of firmware and configuration files onto flight controllers and associated avionics
• Perform calibrations and sanity checks to ensure sensors, power systems, and control surfaces respond as intended
• Validate new configurations before broad deployment across the line when design or firmware changes are introduced

• Execute final system level checks on fully assembled UAS platforms, verifying that all subsystems (power, propulsion, avionics, sensors, communications) perform according to specification
• Use structured checklists and test procedures to confirm correct wiring, signal integrity, parameter settings, and failsafe behavior. Document any non-conformances and disposition before release

• The UAS Engineer has formal authority to approve or reject aircraft for release to Flight Test based on system verification results
• Document non conformances, determine appropriate rework or scrap, and ensure that corrective actions are completed before retest. Their decisions protect safety, reliability, and customer confidence, and they escape only to Manufacturing Engineering or Head of Manufacturing when systemic issues are identified

• Serve as a technical escalation point for UAS Technicians I and II when troubleshooting complex integration or power issues
• Assist in root cause analysis, recommend rework steps, and help refine station level SOPs based on recurring issues
• Provide feedback into upstream processes and design to prevent defects from reaching final verification

• Work closely with Quality and Documentation teams to ensure that test procedures, configuration baselines, and acceptance criteria are properly documented and controlled
• Help define what “flight ready” means for each platform and revision, and ensure that released aircraft are traceable to their configuration and test results
• Participate in review and approval to ensure test coverage remains complete

• Familiarity with UAS flight controllers, avionics, and system configuration
• Experience with Ardu Pilot firmware and GCS software such as Mission Planner or QGround Control
• Ability to perform system-level verification, calibration checks, and configuration validation
• Understanding of aircraft assembly, integration troubleshooting, and non-conformance handling
• Ability to work from controlled documentation, checklists,…