UAV Flight Controls Engineer – CONTRACT 6 MONTHS – SHAFTSBURY DORSET
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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. xsngvjr
* Experience using Git, CI/CD pipelines, and agile engineering workflows.