Mach Industries is seeking a Principal Flight Test Engineer to join their team in Huntington Beach, CA. The role involves serving as a senior technical authority and mentor within the Flight Test organization, focusing on autonomous flight testing and developing the next generation of flight test engineers.
About the Role
As a Principal Flight Test Engineer, you will be responsible for executing and strategizing autonomous flight testing, mentoring junior engineers, and establishing disciplined test practices. You will define flight testing standards and processes, own the validation and verification strategy across test phases, and lead evaluations of flying qualities and handling characteristics. Your role will also include designing test methods, leading safety activities, and guiding the build-out of flight test infrastructure.
About You
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.
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
Mach Industries
Building next-generation defense systems in stealth