Senior Flight Test Engineer - Software Automation

Skills this role screens for

About the role

Skydio is the leading US drone company and the world leader in autonomous flight, the key technology for the future of drones and aerial mobility. The Skydio team combines deep expertise in artificial intelligence, best-in-class hardware and software product development, operational excellence, and customer obsession to empower a broader, more diverse audience of drone users, from utility inspectors https://www.skydio.com/solutions/energy-and-utilities to first responders https://www.skydio.com/solutions/public-safety, soldiers in battlefield scenarios https://www.skydio.com/solutions/national-security/tactical-isr, and beyond https://www.skydio.com/solutions.

The work

About the role

Autonomous drones are complex systems operating in uncontrolled environments. Onboard autonomy and hardware have to work together on every flight, along with the mobile and browser interfaces that control them. Testing these systems is one of the most critical parts of delivering a reliable product.

We are looking for an experienced Software Automation Engineer to lead the Flight Test Automation Pod and scale how we validate autonomous flight. You will design and own automated test systems that run from CI through simulation, hardware-in-the-loop and real-world flight. You’ll bring AI-supported workflows into how tests are written, run and analyzed, and define how we measure test coverage, so every release ships with confidence.

This position is part of the Product Integrity organization, which owns product quality from NPI through end of life across hardware and software. Your work will directly shape how quickly and reliably Skydio ships new capabilities to customers.

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How you'll make an impact

• Lead the Flight Test Automation Pod: set technical direction, own the roadmap, and mentor engineers who contribute to automation
• Own automated test workflows across mobile, browser, and integrated hardware/software systems, from simulation to real-world flight
• Establish and own CI test pipelines that validate every build automatically and give developers fast, actionable feedback
• Design an extensible test framework that scales across teams, making it easy for engineers to add and maintain their own tests
• Apply AI-assisted and agentic workflows to test generation, failure triage and flight log analysis to speed up issue detection
• Define test coverage metrics tied to requirements and risk, and use them to drive our test strategy, reduce manual effort, and focus flight time where it matters most
• Partner with software, flight test, and reliability engineering leads to shape how testing is planned and prioritized

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What makes you a good fit

Compensation: At Skydio, our compensation packages for regular, full-time employees include competitive base salaries, equity in the form of stock options, and comprehensive benefits packages. Compensation will vary based on factors, including skill level, proficiencies, transferable knowledge, and experience. Relocation assistance may also be provided for eligible roles. The annual base salary rang

• 6+ years in software testing, automation or test infrastructure, ideally in a cross-functional and complex hardware/software environment
• A track record of setting technical direction and driving adoption across teams
• Strong Python skills, with experience building maintainable, well-structured test frameworks and infrastructure
• Hands-on experience with CI/CD systems and integrating automated tests into build pipelines
• Experience applying AI and agentic workflows to software development or testing
• Proven ability to define and measure test coverage across complex systems
• Proficiency with mobile and browser automation tools (e.g., Appium, Playwright, Selenium)
• Obtaining FAA Part 107 certification within the first 60 days of employment is required for this position
• Bonus: background in aviation, drones, embedded systems, robotics simulation, or hardware-in-the-loop testing