Contract Flight Test Engineer Jobs Near Me

ABOUT THE SITE

Anduril, a leader in autonomous systems and weapons manufacturing, is building Arsenal-1, its first hyperscale manufacturing facility, just south of Columbus, Ohio in Pickaway County. Arsenal-1 is redefining the scale and speed that autonomous systems and weapons can be produced for the United States and its allies and partners. This is a monumental and essential step toward rebuilding America's defense industrial base, strengthening America's warfighting capabilities, and enhancing deterrence amid rising international threats.

ABOUT THE JOB

As a Manufacturing Test Engineer, you will maintain end-to-end ownership of the aircraft's testing lifecycle on the production line. In this role, you will design, write, and execute critical test procedures-including final Acceptance Test Procedures (ATPs)-to verify flight-readiness, system safety, and sensor performance before the aircraft leaves the factory floor.

You will bridge the gap between design engineering and physical production, translating complex flight and system requirements into repeatable, highly reliable test processes. Beyond executing tests, you will act as a key leader on the floor by training flight-line technicians, troubleshooting complex avionics and electrical failures, and driving continuous improvement to scale our production throughput.

• Author Test Procedures: Write, validate, and maintain clear, step-by-step assembly-level and vehicle-level Acceptance Test Procedures (ATPs) and functional test plans to verify safety-of-flight systems on the Fury aircraft.
• Execute Aircraft Testing: Hands-on execution of system-level checkouts, including power-on testing, flight control actuation sweeps, wire harness continuity, sensor calibrations, and integrated avionics testing.
• Troubleshoot Flight Hardware: Diagnose complex electrical, communication, and mechanical integration failures discovered during testing; identify root causes and implement Corrective Actions (CAPA/RCCA).
• Technician Training & Enablement: Train, certify, and support the aircraft technician team on executing test procedures, utilizing specialized aerospace ground support equipment (GSE), and logging results in the Manufacturing Execution System (MES).
• Continuous Improvement: Analyze test data and cycle times to identify bottlenecks on the flight line; continuously optimize ATPs and automated test scripts to reduce test duration without sacrificing quality or safety.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with Flight Test, Quality, and Design Engineering teams to feed production test data back into the design loop, facilitating rapid design updates and product enhancements.
• Improve and sustain existing test systems to improve automation, consistency, total cycle time, and test coverage (DfM)
• Develop library of common failure modes with troubleshooting guide/diagrams for fast issue resolution
• Work with Design, Quality and Manufacturing Engineering teams to support customer returns and failure analysis
• Collaborate with design engineers to provide feedback and recommendations for product enhancements based on test outcomes
• Optimize test strategies for efficiency and effectiveness, reducing test time without compromising quality
• Maintain and calibrate test equipment to ensure precision and reliability

• Education: Bachelor's degree in Aerospace, Electrical, Computer, Mechanical Engineering, or a related technical field
• Experience: 5+ years of experience in a production test environment, with a strong focus on aircraft, UAV, or complex aerospace system-level testing.
• Testing Expertise: Proven experience writing and executing hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing, system-level ATPs, and avionics functional checkouts on an active production line.
• Technical Skills: Familiarity with aircraft communication protocols (such as CAN bus, Ethernet, RS-232/485) and standard electronics test equipment (multimeters, oscilloscopes, power analyzers
• Software Familiarity: Comfortable utilizing Product Life Cycle (PLM) and Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) to manage test configurations and documentation
• Communication: Excellent technical writing skills with a proven track record of translating complex engineering requirements into clear technician instructions.
• Security Clearance: Eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Secret security clearance

• Experience with autonomous aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or advanced flight control systems.
• Familiarity with Python, LabVIEW, or MATLAB for parsing flight line test data and automating test equipment
• Hands-on experience with environmental stress screening (ESS) such as vibration, thermal cycling, or electromagnetic interference (EMI) testing on aircraft components
• Active U.S. Secret security clearance