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Salary: USD 84,000 - 95,000 / annual
Flock Safety is building Drone as First Responder (DFR) systems that support emergency response and public safety operations. As a UAS Flight Test Engineer, you will own the technical validation and field testing of aircraft hardware, software integrations, and system components to ensure reliability in real-world operational conditions.
You will spend over 70% of your time outdoors conducting hands-on flight testing and field missions. Your responsibilities include:
- Lead technical flight testing and evaluation of DFR aircraft, hardware integrations, and system components
- Serve as Pilot in Command during outdoor flight operations, evaluating system behavior and performance across diverse environmental conditions
- Write and modify custom test scripts using Python and terminal interfaces to extract flight data and analyze aircraft behavior
- Conduct root-cause troubleshooting on physical and software discrepancies discovered during bench testing and field missions
- Document flight data, generate technical test write-ups, and communicate actionable findings to engineering stakeholders
This is a hands-on technical role that combines piloting, hardware integration, software debugging, and field testing. You will work on-site in Atlanta with up to 25% domestic travel for field testing and operational missions. The role is not purely administrative piloting, nor is it bench-only research—you will actively debug custom software, write testing scripts, and integrate hardware components alongside flight operations.
Flock is a well-funded public safety technology company with over 1,700 employees and $1B+ in funding. The company supports over 1 million criminal investigations annually and helps locate missing people.
REQUIREMENTS:
- Valid FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate (required to operate UAS platforms legally and safely)
- Hands-on experience integrating physical components and assessing hardware compatibility on aircraft systems
- Capability to interact with custom software via terminal interfaces and write or adapt Python scripts for test data collection
- Physical stamina to work outdoors in active field testing environments over 70% of the time and lift up to 55 lbs of equipment
- Bachelor's degree in engineering or a related technical discipline, or equivalent professional flight test and hardware experience
- Experience with experimental UAS flight testing or custom flight controllers is a plus
