Flight Test Engineer - Device Platform

Skydio•San Mateo, CA

22h•Onsite

About The Position

Skydio is the leading US drone company and the world leader in autonomous flight, the key technology for the future of drones and aerial mobility. The Skydio team combines deep expertise in artificial intelligence, best-in-class hardware and software product development, operational excellence, and customer obsession to empower a broader, more diverse audience of drone users. From utility inspectors to first responders, soldiers in battlefield scenarios and beyond. About the role: Skydio is seeking a Flight Test Engineer focused on Device Platform systems – the mobile and controller interfaces that connect pilots to autonomy. This role treats the human–machine interface as flight-critical, ensuring that control software performs reliably, intuitively, and predictably in real-world operations. You’ll validate how customers interact with Skydio aircraft through mobile, controller, and handheld applications—testing workflows that span setup, flight, and recovery. You’ll work closely with mobile, embedded middleware, design, and other software hardware teams to expose edge cases, uncover usability risks, and shape customer experience. This role is onsite in San Mateo, CA , with occasional travel to field test sites.

Requirements

Background in human factors, mobile UI/UX validation or design, flight testing, and/or real-world system testing
Strong debugging and troubleshooting skills across mobile, embedded, and networked systems
Experience with UAS operations and high-reliability operator workflows
Understanding of human factors, usability engineering, and cognitive workload
Strong documentation and technical communication skills
Passion for aviation, autonomy, and human-centered system design
Flying a lot!

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with Linux and embedded platforms (not required)

Responsibilities

Plan and execute UI/UX validation campaigns for new software releases and features.
Design and run operator-in-the-loop flight tests to evaluate real-world usability and decision support.
Validate mobile and controller UI performance during live and simulated flight operations.
Create and automate smoke, regression, and sanity stress test suites for mobile control interfaces.
Measure and report on flight health, latency, responsiveness, input accuracy, and recovery behavior.
Identify human system interaction risks early and drive design and test mitigations.
Evaluate new features for repeatability, clarity, and operational stability.
Collect and analyze operator telemetry, logs, and screen recordings to guide design feedback.
Test and Validate Ground control station (GCS) and mobile application workflows Touch, gesture, and controller-based inputs Mission planning and in-flight UI transitions Alerts, warnings, and system state visibility Performance under degraded GPS, comms, or RF conditions Secure login, authentication, and access control flows 3rd-party software, device integrations, and peripherals Human factors in safety- and autonomy-critical behaviors Bring up of new controller devices and various platforms
Partner with product, mobile software developers, middleware embedded teams, and design to define UX validation requirements, establish operational success metrics, and maintain safe, test-ready aircraft and controller environments.

Benefits

At Skydio, our compensation packages for regular, full-time employees include competitive base salaries, equity in the form of stock options, and comprehensive benefits packages.
Regular, full-time employees are eligible to enroll in the Company’s group health insurance plans.
Regular, full-time employees are eligible to receive the following benefits: Paid vacation time, sick leave, holiday pay and 401K savings plan.

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