UAV Robotics​/Mechatronics Engineer; UAV Pilot Operations

Position: UAV Robotics/Mechatronics Engineer (UAV Pilot & Flight Operations)
Opening:  WE CANNOT PROVIDE VISA SPONSORSHIP   Details  Preferred starting date: ASAP
Weekly availability:
Full-time (5 days/week)

Location:

Delft, the Netherlands
About the company  Fiducial is a young but fast-growing deep-tech start-up with big ambitions at the frontier of autonomy, perception, and defence. Currently, we are developing software for advanced onboard UAV situational awareness in military applications. Using low-cost and widely available sensors and compute, our solutions are built for scalability. From there, we plan to develop a line-up of interconnected solutions to safeguard European safety.
Our team consists of engineers who are passionate about the technology and solutions they develop. The only time most of us are not thinking about the technology is when we are asleep, and sometimes even then. Our team members come from different backgrounds such as Aerospace Engineering, Computational Science and Engineering, Robotics, and Computer Graphics. Our office is located in the Aerospace Innovation Hub, a start-up hub on the TU Delft campus in the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering.
We work closely with top-tier partners, ranging from government agencies and prime contractors to academic research institutes and other start-ups. Our projects span from large tender orders in collaboration with partners to low-TRL research with government agencies. Whether through formal R&D programs or rapid prototyping tracks, we operate at the intersection of innovation and deployment.

Your role  If you are the kind of person who enjoys being on the sticks, knows how to prepare a platform for flight, and also can’t resist opening up the autonomy stack to see why it’s fighting the flight controller, this role is designed for you.
We are looking for a  UAV Robotics/Mechatronics Engineer (UAV Pilot & Flight Operations)  who is first and foremost excited about  piloting and operating UAV platforms , and who also wants to be the bridge between our autonomy software and the hardware it flies on. This role is not limited to FPV systems, although FPV experience is highly valued. You will fly and build across multiple platform types, including  multirotors such as the Holybro X650  and  fixed-wing aircraft .
Being able to fly is a requirement, not a nice-to-have.  Your main responsibility is to make sure our UAV platforms are  flight-ready at all times , and to be the person who takes them up. That means flying, checking, maintaining, preparing, troubleshooting, and improving the systems before, during, and after flight operations, while also working deep in the embedded software and hardware layers that make autonomous flight possible.
This is not a desk-only role. You will spend time around real aircraft, in the workshop, in the field, and in the terminal. You will pilot, build, debug, integrate, and help ensure our drone platforms can be deployed reliably and safely, often under pressure during field testing.
We're open to candidates at all levels of experience , from students and early-career engineers to seasoned professionals. What matters most is that you can fly, you're hands-on, and you're hungry to grow into the rest. Seniority will shape scope and responsibility, not whether you belong here.
What you'll do   Flight operations
Pilot and operate UAV platforms in test, R&D, and field environments, across FPV, multirotor (including the  Holybro X650 ), and fixed-wing systems.
Ensure platforms are  flight-ready at all times  through structured pre-flight, post-flight, and maintenance routines.
Perform system checks on airframes, propulsion systems, power systems, RC links, telemetry, payloads, and onboard compute.
Prepare platforms for test days by charging batteries, checking logs, verifying configurations, updating firmware, and confirming component health.
Plan and execute flight test campaigns, safely validating new autonomy capabilities, tuning flight controller parameters, and collecting flight data.
Troubleshoot flight readiness issues quickly and methodically, in the field where debugging resources are limited and stakes are high.
Engineering & integration
Develop, maintain, and debug the interface layer…