Mach Industries · 8 hours ago
Principal Flight Test Engineer
Huntington Beach, CA
Full-time
Onsite
Lead/Staff
10+ years expMach Industries is a rapidly growing defense technology company focused on developing next-generation autonomous defense platforms. The Principal Flight Test Engineer will serve as a senior technical authority and mentor within the Flight Test organization, responsible for executing flight testing strategies and developing future flight test engineers.
National DefenseIndustrialManufacturingDronesDrone ManagementInfrastructureNational Security
Responsibilities
Serve as Principal Technical Authority for flight and ground test engineering across autonomous aircraft programs
Mentor and technically guide junior flight test engineers, including:
Teaching test planning methodology and execution discipline
Reviewing test plans, procedures, and reports
Coaching real-time decision-making during test execution
Establish internal best practices, templates, and training material for flight test engineering at Mach
Own and execute test strategies for autonomous and semi-autonomous aircraft, spanning multiple vehicle classes and propulsion types, including:
High-Altitude Balloons (HABs) and lighter-than-air systems
Fixed-wing aircraft (glider and turbine powered)
Rotary-wing aircraft, including multirotor and compound configurations
Turbine-powered and/or solid rocket motor propelled cruise missiles and interceptors
Lead autonomy mode progression, incremental enablement, and regression testing across vehicle types
Partner with GNC and Autonomy teams to define measurable performance metrics, safety monitors, and success criteria
Ensure autonomy behavior is evaluated using structured, repeatable, and defensible test techniques
Lead flying qualities and handling qualities evaluations appropriate to the vehicle class and mission, using: Using what?
Develop novel and non-traditional flying qualities test technique
Define and execute envelope expansion plans, control law evaluations, and handling qualities assessments
Design test methods to evaluate new and existing mission CONOPs
Lead Flight Readiness Reviews (FRR), Test Readiness Reviews (TRR), and Post-Test Data reviews and squawks
Act as test conductor during flight operations
Coordinate flight test execution across engineering, flight ops, safety, and program teams
Lead system safety activities including Test Hazard Analysis (THA) development and Safety Review Board (SRB) meetings
Define knock-it-off criteria and real-time safety decision thresholds
Maintain and evolve Mach’s Flight Test Safety Management System (SMS)
Interface with DoD range safety and airworthiness authorities.(Added bullet)
Guide the design and build-out of flight test infrastructure, including:
Ground Control Stations (GCS)
Telemetry, instrumentation, and data acquisition systems
Define standards for data collection, reduction, and archival
Support scaling of the flight test organization through hiring input and organizational design
Qualification
Required
Bachelor's degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, Electrical, or related Engineering discipline (Master's preferred)
10–15+ years of aerospace experience, with significant responsibility in flight test engineering roles
Demonstrated experience developing and testing autonomous or highly augmented aircraft systems across multiple vehicle classes
Experience writing and executing flight and ground test plans at the component, subassembly, and system levels
Proven ability to design and execute flying qualities evaluations, including development of novel techniques where standards are insufficient
Experience operating on DoD or restricted test ranges
Demonstrated mentorship and technical leadership of early-career engineers
Preferred
Graduate of a recognized Test Pilot School (TPS) or equivalent advanced flight test training (e.g., military, government, or accredited civilian TPS)
Experience with mission planning tools, autonomy frameworks, and custom GCS software
Pilot (Part 107 and/or 61), or extensive RC flight test background
Calm, decisive leadership in high-risk or time-critical test environments
Strong organizational skills with a bias toward disciplined execution and data integrity
Benefits
Health insurance
Retirement plans
Opportunities for professional development
Company
Mach Industries
Mach Industries is a defense manufacturing company that develops unmanned systems and defense infrastructure.
51-200 employees
Funding
Current Stage
Growth StageTotal Funding
$184.7MKey Investors
Bedrock,Khosla VenturesBedrockSequoia Capital
2025-06-17Series B· $100M
2023-10-04Series A· $79M
2023-06-15Seed· $5.7M
Leadership Team
Ethan Thornton
Member
Recent News
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