Sr. Systems Test Engineer

Founded in 2015, Acubed is the Silicon Valley innovation center of Airbus. As a global leader in aerospace, Airbus aims to make things fly. Our mission is to provide a lens into the future for the industry, transforming risk into opportunity to build the future of flight now.

At Acubed, we strive to propel innovation to market faster, broaden the talent pool in emerging aerospace careers and simultaneously help drive a culture change across Airbus.

About Acubed 

Founded in 2015, Acubed is the Silicon Valley innovation center of Airbus. As a global leader in aerospace, Airbus aims to make things fly. Our mission - provide a lens into the future for the industry, transforming risk into opportunity to build the future of flight now. At Acubed, we strive to propel innovation to market faster, broaden the talent pool in emerging aerospace careers and simultaneously help drive a culture change across Airbus. 

WAYFINDER

The Wayfinder team is building scalable, certifiable autonomy systems to power the next generation of commercial aircraft. Our experts are driving the maturation of machine learning and other core technologies for autonomous flight; we are creating a reference architecture that includes hardware, software, and a data-driven development process to allow aircraft to perceive and react to their environment. Autonomous flight is transforming the transportation industry, and our team is at the heart of this revolution.

The Opportunity

The Senior Systems Test Engineer is a technical lead responsible for the planning, execution, and analysis of overall systems integration and test activities for complex aerospace systems. This includes collaborating with other technical leads and department heads, building and managing hardware and software in the loop (HIL and SIL), integration labs, aircraft surrogates and aircraft. Detailed activities include:

• Leading systems integration for test campaigns
• Planning and organizing ground and flight tests
• Supporting cross-functional and cross-discipline teams
• Creating innovative and efficient test processes and procedures
• Managing test article hardware and software configurations
• Evaluating component and integrated system performance
• Managing and curating flight and ground test data
• Developing flight and ground test data analysis tools
• Drafting, reviewing and validating interim ground and flight test reports
• Conducting forensic data audits to identify test and process failures
• Conducting post-mortem investigations to improve processes
• Integrate processes and procedures with our global Airbus teammates to ensure  seamless cooperation in pursuing common goals and objectives

As the Senior Systems Test Engineer, you will report to the Director of Flight Test and Operations. In this role, you will oversee the expansion of flightlab capabilities by developing and integrating new hardware and software. The flightlab is a complete system of HILs/SILs, an integration lab and a Beechcraft Baron twin engine flight test aircraft.  You will use a systems engineering approach using surrogate full scale mock-ups and full-scale aircraft for data collection and flight test campaigns to collect data and validate the performance of systems you helped develop. 

You will be responsible for organizing resources required to conduct thorough testing of our systems while working with engineers across the team to design those tests. In this capacity, you will oversee the planning, executing and reporting on ground and flight test operations for all our flightlab projects.

You will focus on collaborating with cross functional teams to develop safe and efficient aviation systems utilizing artificial intelligence and machine learning software to develop innovative commercial aviation systems. You will work with the flight test team to ensure systems you help develop are ready for flight test and occasionally conduct flight testing as a flight test engineer. We expect you to maintain a culture of safety around our ground and flight test activities while also encouraging urgency and a bias toward action.

Responsibilities:

• Work with technical leads and department heads to build and manage HIL/SIL and integrated aircraft surrogates to support data driven development growth
• Manage contractors and their deliverables to meet milestones supporting flightlab development
• Plan, organize, and lead data collection ground tests to support Wayfinder systems flight test campaigns
• Support cross functional and cross discipline teams to execute successful flight operations by effectively setting and communicating test priorities
• Create innovative and efficient processes and procedures for testing our systems to meet schedules while maintaining quality and safety at all times
• Manage test article hardware and software configurations and oversee test jigs and system hardware installation
• Work with teams to logically fabricate and then integrate system hardware and software into our various test platforms to support efficient flight test activities
• Evaluate system performance, provide detailed observations during testing and deliver system performance feedback during flight and ground test events
• Manage and curate flight and ground test data
• Write quick look reports immediately following test events and detailed written reports following major test milestones
• Develop flight and ground test data analysis tools capable of supporting an agile and fast-paced test campaign, and employ them to assist in confirming performance, identifying and diagnosing issues, and collaborating on solutions
• Perform various manual tasks including installing and replacing test equipment and test systems as required
• Continually evaluate  ground and flight test procedures and operations and enact changes to improve data quality, efficacy, safety and efficiency

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s (BS) degree in aerospace engineering, a related discipline, or equivalent experience
• 5+ years of progressive experience in engineering including integrating sensors and ancillary support equipment in aerospace vehicles
• Demonstrated ability to plan and document system and subsystem test programs, including exceptional organizational and communication skills for coordinating with internal and external stakeholders, as well as demonstrated ability in flight testing of manned or unmanned systems, including drafting test plans, test cards, test hazard analyses, and acting as test director during a flight/mission.
• Knowledge of relevant aviation regulations and logistics including general aviation aircraft alterations and maintenance, radio communication procedures, and flight planning
• Experience or knowledge of Safety Management Systems (SMS) either in a supervisory or participant role
• Experience in full hardware and software development life cycle.

Strongly Preferred Qualifications:

• MS degree with significant experience with experimental air vehicle project(s)
• Robotics experience 
• Familiarity working with vendors in the development of design and fabrication of integrated systems
• Familiarization with design tools such as Solidworks
• Experience with Agile methods, and related tools, e.g. JIRA, GitHub
• Fluency in data analysis and visualization using tools such as Python or MATLAB
• Experience with test automation and test management tools
• Experience with requirements traceability software tools such as JAMA
• Fixed-wing pilot or actively pursuing a license
• Experience with optical engineering or a background in optical design,  videography and/or photography either professionally or as a hobby

Benefits

• Exceptional PPO medical, dental and vision benefits 100% of premiums covered for employee and their family/dependents
• Generous PTO of 5 weeks (6 weeks after two years) in addition to 11 national holidays and unlimited paid sick days 
• Tuition reimbursement for professional development or $15,750 for flight training
• 3 months paid parental leave from Day 1

Pay Transparency Notice: Depending on your work location and years of experience, the target annual salary for this position can range from $135,000 to $165,000 + target bonus + benefits (including medical, dental, vision, 401(k), and flight training).

* Note that Acubed does not offer sponsorship of employment-based nonimmigrant visa petitions for this role.