UAV Flight Controls Engineer – CONTRACT 6 MONTHS – SHAFTSBURY DORSET

I seek a UAV Flight Controls Engineer to support the development, integration, and validation of advanced unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flight control systems across fixed-wing, VTOL, and hybrid platforms.

The successful candidate will play a key role in the design and optimisation of flight dynamics, control algorithms, autopilot systems, and autonomous flight behaviours for next-generation defence and aerospace platforms. This position requires strong analytical capability, practical systems engineering experience, and a hands-on approach to flight testing and vehicle integration.

AT THE COAL FACE / RESPONSIBILITIES

• Design, develop, and validate UAV flight control systems for rotary-wing, fixed-wing, and VTOL aircraft.
• Develop control laws, guidance algorithms, and stability augmentation systems.
• Support autopilot integration using PX4, ArduPilot, or proprietary flight control architectures.
• Build and maintain simulation environments for software-in-the-loop (SIL) and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing.
• Conduct flight dynamics modelling and aerodynamic analysis.
• Tune and optimise PID, adaptive, and model-based control systems.
• Analyse telemetry and flight-test data to improve vehicle performance and reliability.
• Collaborate with avionics, propulsion, software, and systems engineering teams.
• Support ground testing, integration activities, and live flight trials.
• Produce engineering documentation, verification reports, and compliance evidence.
• Contribute to autonomous behaviours including waypoint navigation, mission execution, failsafe logic, and swarm/cooperative systems.

PROVEN ABILITY / ESSENTIAL SKILLS

• 3+ years’ ability in UAV, aerospace, robotics, or autonomous systems engineering.
• Flight dynamics and aircraft stability
• Classical and modern control theory
• Sensor fusion and state estimation
• Guidance, navigation, and control (GNC)
• Experience with MATLAB/Simulink and control system modelling.
• Proficiency in C/C++ and/or Python.
• Integrating IMUs, GPS, magnetometers, air-data systems, and other avionics sensors.
• Familiarity with MAVLink, CAN bus, serial protocols, and embedded systems.
• Supporting flight-test campaigns and troubleshooting airborne systems.

DESIRABLES

• PX4, ArduPilot, ROS, or proprietary autopilot systems.VTOL transition control and hybrid aircraft architectures.
• Kalman filtering, EKF/UKF, and sensor fusion frameworks. Real-time operating systems (RTOS).
• Familiarity with DO-178C, DO-254, ARP4754, or equivalent aerospace standards.
• Experience using Git, CI/CD pipelines, and agile engineering workflows.