JOB TITLE: Flight Test Engineer
DEPARTMENT: Engineering
REPORTING TO: Chief Engineer
Founded in 1955, Piasecki Aircraft Corporation (PiAC) is a research and development business specializing in design, fabrication and flight testing of experimental rotorcraft and unmanned air vehicles. Piasecki has developed and flown more than 25 different advanced VTOL and UAV aircraft and continues to develop cutting-edge vertical flight technologies.
Summary
The Piasecki Aircraft Corporation Flight Test Engineer will be responsible for leading the design and development of tests and conducting test activities to meet project-specific requirements. The Flight Test Engineer will work closely with a core team of engineers to design, develop, and integrate test actions with a focus on obtaining actionable data to ensure the safe and efficient operation of aircraft and systems.
Responsibilities
- Work with teams to understand project needs and develop plans for rapid test actions.
- Identify commonalities between various applications to recommend platform components and subsystems that meet current and future needs where appropriate.
- Develop flight test plans and flight test cards.
- Perform data reduction and analysis.
- Document test results in test reports.
- Monitor flight test parameters during ground and flight tests.
- Establish project development schedules and resource estimations from concept to production implementation, including tooling, NRE labor, BOM cost, etc.
- Document test requirements and decompose them into component and integration requirements as needed for each test setup.
- Create and maintain design documentation, including usable data plots and tables for use in latter stages of the test.
- Work with the engineering team to assign requirements, discuss trade-offs, perform design reviews, and ensure successful test execution and data presentation.
- Manage technical aspects of testing, integration, and validation of projects and provide status updates to integrated project teams.
- Perform detailed post-test analysis of systems, including physical, electrical, and control architecture and integration aspects, emphasizing safety, quality, and cost.
- Lead or participate in system, subsystem, and vehicle-level FMEA, and develop design guidelines.
- Interact with purchasing, testing, manufacturing, and external suppliers as needed for the successful completion of projects.
- Create and execute (or facilitate the execution of) test plans and component functionality/reliability testing/validation plans before system integration.
- Facilitate issue root-cause analysis and resolution.
- Identify and communicate risks related to the design, development, implementation, etc., of products and subsystems, and work with the team to prioritize and develop and execute mitigation and contingency plans.
- Support the development and continuous improvement of processes, tools, documentation, training materials, etc., to maintain a sustained capability within the organization.
- Mentor junior engineers and support their professional development.
- Perform other duties and assignments as requested.
Knowledge / Skills / Abilities
- Minimum of 5+ years of work experience in system development, particularly in VTOL systems, electric, and hybrid vehicle architectures, or related fields.
- In-depth understanding of various vehicle architectures, systems, and subsystems, including component design and selection.
- Experience with mechanical systems and engines, including thermal testing.
- Hands-on experience using electrical/software test and analysis equipment.
- Product development experience.
- Demonstrated success with engineering problem-solving approaches.
- Ability to influence without authority.
- Success working in cross-functional, multi-location teams.
- Highly developed skills using design/analysis software, Python, and Microsoft Office tools.
Education / Certifications / Clearances
- Bachelor’s degree in engineering. Graduate degree preferred.
- Ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance.
