Senior UAV Systems Engineer - Design and Integration

Onsite / Hybrid | Start-up | Unmanned Aircraft Programme
No visa sponsorship is available. Applicants must already have the right to work in the UK.

A fast-growing start-up is looking for a senior, hands-on engineer to lead the design, integration and troubleshooting of avionics and onboard systems for a flagship unmanned aircraft programme, plus future product and customer developments.

You'll sit within a growing systems engineering function, working closely with senior engineering leadership, while staying heavily involved in practical integration across avionics, comms, power, autopilot and payload/ground interfaces.

What you'll be doing

Design, integrate and troubleshoot UAS avionics and onboard systems
Define avionics architecture, interfaces, power distribution, wiring and communications requirements
Support autopilot, telemetry, GNSS/INS, payload interfaces and ground-control integration
Produce and maintain interface documents, wiring diagrams, configuration records and test evidence
Support requirements capture, integration planning, ground test, SIL/HIL and flight test activities
Identify and resolve integration risks and system-level issues
Improve repeatability and maturity (documented, testable, supportable systems) and help productise integration approaches

What we're looking for (essential)

Strong background in UAS / aerospace / avionics / robotics / embedded systems / mechatronics
Experience integrating avionics, communications, autopilots and/or payload interfaces
Practical understanding of wiring, power and data interfaces, and HW/SW integration
Confident fault-finding on complex integrated systems
Test support experience (ground, field and/or flight test)
Strong documentation and configuration-control habits
Comfortable working hands-on in a small, fast-growing technical team

Nice to have

PX4, ArduPilot, Auterion (or similar)
MAVLink, CAN, Ethernet, serial, GNSS/INS, telemetry, RF
SIL/HIL testing exposure
Aerospace/defence/robotics/autonomy background
Awareness of safety/airworthiness/regulated test environments
Only candidates based in UK and eligible to work in UK are allowed