Flight Test Engineer

About Poseidon Aerospace:

Poseidon Aerospace is reimagining how the world moves goods. We build and operate full-size autonomous cargo aircraft - capable of carrying two tons of payload over a thousand nautical miles. From remote communities to contested logistics operations, our platforms unlock a new cost curve for air freight, making it faster, cheaper, and accessible anywhere it's needed. Headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area with locations in Washington DC, Oregon, and Maine; we're building something consequential.

As a Flight Test Engineer at Poseidon Aerospace, you will lead the planning, preparation, and execution of flight and ground test campaigns across all Poseidon Aerospace flight platforms . You will bridge the gap between design engineering and real-world operations, taking full vehicle platforms from the laboratory environments straight to the flight line. This role requires a systems-level understanding of aircraft, a highly structured and safety-first approach to test execution, and the ability to analyze complex telemetry data into clear, actionable engineering results.

 

Responsibilities

• Test Planning & Coordination: Develop comprehensive flight test plans, test cards, and functional hazard analyses (FHA) for full-scale autonomous aircraft systems and subsystems.

• Flight Line Execution: Act as a Test Director or Responsible Engineer during ground runs, taxi tests, and envelope-expansion flight test events.

• Data & Telemetry Analysis: Monitor real-time telemetry during flights. Collect, process, and interpret flight test data using scripting tools to assess vehicle performance, stability, and control, overall system performance, engine performance, and fuel system performance.

• Instrumentation & Integration: Define requirements for and support the installation of flight test instrumentation (FTI), sensors (strain gauges, load cells, pitot-static systems), and data acquisition systems onboard the test assets.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner closely with Avionics, Propulsion, Flight Controls, and Structural design, Flight Sciences, and Airplane Configuration Design teams to define objective pass/fail validation criteria.

• Safety & Operations: Lead pre-flight briefings and post-test debriefs. Enforce strict safety protocols on the flight line, identifying operational risks and implementing rapid mitigation strategies.

• Reporting & Documentation: Maintain meticulous traceability between regulatory/design requirements and test results. Write formal flight test reports documenting system anomalies, performance metrics, and airworthiness findings.