Flight Test Engineer, Jr level

FMS Aerospace is seeking an experienced full-time, permanent Junior-level Flight Test Engineer for our Huntsville office. This role supports ground and flight testing for aircraft modification programs involving OML (Outer Mold Line), avionics, systems, and interior changes on Part 23 and Part 25 certified aircraft. 

The Junior Flight Test Engineer supports the planning, execution, and analysis of flight test programs for aircraft, unmanned aerial systems (UAS), and aerospace systems. Working under the guidance of senior flight test engineers, this role is responsible for assisting with test planning, data acquisition, flight test monitoring, data reduction, and preparation of engineering reports. The ideal candidate will have a strong technical foundation in aerospace engineering principles, excellent analytical skills, and a passion for aviation and aircraft performance evaluation. This position offers the opportunity to work closely with pilots, design engineers, technicians, and program teams to ensure aircraft systems meet performance, safety, and certification requirements. 

Key Responsibilities

Test & Certification Support:  Assist with the development of flight test plans for performance, flight characteristics, systems, envelope expansion, certification, and operational test programs. 

Regulatory Compliance: Support certification planning and regulatory compliance activities in coordination with engineering specialists and subject matter experts. 

Instrumentation Setup: Define instrumentation requirements, including data parameters, ranges, accuracy, and sampling rates. 

Aircraft Preparation: Prepare aircraft for testing, maintain test aircraft configuration control, and support conformity inspections, weight and balance control, and airworthiness evaluations. 

Test Cards & Briefings: Prepare flight test cards and assist in conducting pre- and post-test briefings for ground and flight test events. 

Flight Operations Support: Support the operation of test aircraft during baseline, development, envelope expansion, and certification flight test programs to collect engineering data. 

Safety & Risk Management: Apply company safety, risk identification, and risk management procedures across all assigned test programs. 

Program Tracking: Track test-point progress and provide clear status updates to program management as requested. 

Cross-Functional Coordination: Coordinate flight test support with maintenance personnel, remote sites, contractors, subcontractors, vendors, and airworthiness authorities. 

Required Qualifications

Education: Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, or Electrical Engineering, Mathematics, Physics, or a closely related technical field. 

Experience: Minimum of 2 years of direct flight test engineering experience. 

Medical: Ability to obtain and maintain an FAA Class III Medical Certificate. 

Technical Foundations: Strong understanding of aerodynamics, flight mechanics, aircraft systems, propulsion, and engineering analysis/testing methods. 

Data Analysis: Experience with aircraft performance, flight characteristics, systems testing, flight test instrumentation, and data acquisition systems; ability to analyze and interpret test data using engineering tools. 

Regulatory Awareness: Foundational knowledge of aircraft certification processes and FAA, military, or customer regulatory requirements. 

Core Skills: Strong math, physics, and technical problem-solving skills, with the ability to prioritize and organize assignments across multiple programs. 

Security Clearance: Must be a U.S. citizen capable of obtaining and maintaining a Department of Defense Secret clearance. 

Travel & Schedule: Willingness to travel domestically and internationally up to 20% to customer sites, hangars, and test locations; willingness to work overtime during active flight test windows. 

Software: Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint). 

Preferred Qualifications

• Background in aviation airframe modifications or the aerospace industry. 
• Prior DoD or military flight test environment exposure. 
• Experience with data acquisition systems, telemetry, instrumentation, and engineering tools (e.g., MATLAB, Python, Dewesoft). 
• Fixed-wing flight test or operation experience. 
• Licensed Private Pilot. 

Benefits and Perks: 

• Industry-competitive compensation package
• Company performance-based bonus plan
• Equity stock-based compensation package
• Employer-funded comprehensive health, vision, and dental insurance for employees and dependents
• 401k with company match
• PTO & holiday pay
• Employer-funded life and disability insurance coverages

Company Profile

Founded in 2013, FMS is a growing, flexible, customer-driven aircraft structural engineering and flight test company with manufacturing capability.  We have many opportunities with a variety of types of projects with both foreign and domestic governments and commercial customers across many types of aircraft.  Our parent company, Bridger Aerospace, is an aerial firefighting and critical infrastructure support company based in Belgrade, Montana. It was founded in 2014 to support front-line firefighters with world-leading technology and aerial fire suppression systems. Bridger Aerospace has grown from operating a single plane to commanding a significant Air Attack fleet, Special Missions Sensor Equipped Aircraft, and the largest privately operated Super Scooper fleet in the world. 

This position is subject to pre-employment background check.

Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings and its family of companies does not discriminate or permit discrimination by any member of its community against any individual on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, parental status, marital status, age, disability, citizenship status, veteran status, genetic information, or any other classification protected by federal or state law in matters of employment, promotion, services or activities it operates.