Flight Test Engineer

About the role

Alta Ares, founded in 2024, builds AI-guided interceptors for drones and cruise missiles and the software platform behind them, serving NATO-aligned militaries and defence institutions. It is hiring a Flight Test Engineer in Blagnac to plan, run and analyse flight tests of high-performance unmanned aerial systems, from early prototypes to mature configurations.

Key responsibilities

• Plan, prepare and lead flight test campaigns, writing test plans, test cards, risk assessments and safety cases
• Act as test conductor on the range: pre-flight checks, coordinating the test team and making go/no-go decisions
• Coordinate with range authorities, airspace regulators and military test centres to secure test slots and approvals
• Define instrumentation and requirements, process and analyse flight data, and write test reports and root-cause investigations
• Build tools and scripts to automate post-flight analysis and grow a structured test database
• Maintain the test and evaluation strategy, support qualification and acceptance campaigns with customers, and own flight safety processes and incident reporting
• Work with Avionics, Software, GNC, Mechanical and Product teams, and support customer demonstrations and operator training

Required profile

• Degree in Aerospace, Mechanical or Electrical Engineering or a related field
• 2+ years of flight test experience on UAS, fixed-wing or rotary-wing aircraft or guided munitions
• Proven track record writing test plans and leading test campaigns in the field
• Fluent English; French is a plus

Required skills

• Solid understanding of flight dynamics, flight control systems and aircraft performance
• Strong data analysis skills
• Experience with telemetry, ground control stations and onboard data logging
• Nice to have: drone pilot certification, military test range experience, PX4/ArduPilot familiarity, willingness to travel frequently to test sites across Europe