Flight Test Director

Job Description

Job Description

US Citizen or Permanent Resident

In-Person

Starts Immediately

Join us in retuning to a 1940’s design cadence, reducing the cycle time for aircraft design, build and fly – Integrating advanced design tools and experimenting with unconventional planforms. We are reindustrializing the Midwest as Michigan’s first airframe prime since the Second World War. We’releveraging our region’s industrial might and airspace to build aircraft that become decentralized infrastructure. Orb is a small mission-driven team where your initiative, creativity, and dedication will be used to reach every village on the planet with power, logistics, and communications.

Your Role at Orb: Orb needs a dynamic systems engineer/UAV pilot with a passion for engineering and testing hardware/software combinations to its limits throughout the design, build, test, and manufacturing process.

If you’re ready to take ownership, embrace complexity, and thrive in a role where your work truly matters, we’d love to hear from you.

• Support the physical, electrical and environmental testing of materials, components, sub-assemblies, and full product assemblies. Including performing benchmark testing of both COTS and Orb designed components.

• Create strategies that support product testing and selection from the component to final product level.

• Create and execute test campaigns in accordance with the development timelines of Orb’s different product lines. Including creating test plans, test cards, and writing formal test reports.

• Lead or participate in system, subsystem and vehicle-level FMEA.

• When needed, act as a remote Pilot in Command to fly prototype air vehicles to collect and quantify aircraft performance. (Including but not limited to, airframe and flight envelope limitations, autonomy and flight control functionality, and communication/EW Resiliency)

• When required, design and fabricate experimental apparatuses and/or fixtures to collect experimental data.

• Write technical documents, drawings, and test reports along with associated specs to ensure a repeatable and sustainable testing program.

• Work cross functionally with multiple engineering disciplines across the Orb product development teams to stay aligned on both product and part key performance parameters.

• Stay up to date with latest industry testing standards and implement them where appropriate.

• Participate in the hiring process including recruiting and interviewing employees for Orb’s future test engineering team.

• Mentor incoming engineers to build a strong culture of leadership and engineering excellence.

• Part 107 qualified and confident in piloting multi-copters and/or fixed-wing UAVs.
• Familiarity with experimental design, statistical methods, technical writing, and presentation of test results in report format.
• Hands on experience with instrumentation and data acquisition.
• Ability to fabricate, tools, fixtures, and apparatus using a wide variety of tools (power and manual).
• Familiarity with a variety of sensors including accelerometers, tachometers, strain gauges, and force transducers.
• A strong background in systems, electrical, mechanical, and/or aerospace engineering.
• Experience with material and environmental testing, supported by familiarity with performing different industry testing standards (such as ASTM, FAA, IEEE, NASA, etc.)
• Experience using Siemens NX or Similar CAD Package
• Experience in aircraft, spacecraft, consumer electronic, and/or robotics-based product development.

+ Additional Options and Incentives

About Orb Aerospace: Orb was started with the mission to bring aviation tothe 80% of the world that’s never had it; turning autonomous aircraft into tools to decentralize infrastructure, connect continents, protect soldiers, provide for families, and run economies.“Less like the flying taxis, more like the flying cowboys,”Orb is at the intersection of manned and unmanned aviation, reindustrializing the Midwest, and building thefuture we know is possible and want to live in.

About Node One: Node One is a small team of engineers and operators who have dedicated their lives to solving some of the world’s hardest problems through a new kind of aviation. Orb’s live-work-fly R&D HQ. Node One is all about reducing the cycle time to design, build, and fly aircraft from years to months and building the systems and platforms we’ll use to reach every village on the planet.

We stand on the shoulders of giants. Their great work allows us to accomplish ours. If you’ve been a rocket/airplane nerdand have a passion for designing, building, and flying airframes, autopilots, power systems, and embedded systems, or you love to push a new product through new manufacturing methods to a new market, come join the team at Node One and make history.

Orb Employees Are:

High Agency and Biased Towards Action

Have a History of Self-Starting, Pacing, and Finishing Projects

Thrive with Autonomy to Design New Solutions to Partially Defined Problems

Are Curious and Continue Learning

Have Integrity and a Desire to Serve Others

Standard Benefits Package:

Orb provides a monthly flat rate towards medical, dental, and vision

$500 flat rate for individuals; $850 flat rate for married/family

Medical, Vision, Dental, Short/Long Term Disability, and Group/Voluntary Life Insurance

Opt-In 401K Options (Pre-Tax or Roth) with a 3% Employer Match

Perks:

Support in Getting your Pilots License and Ratings

Support for Continuing Education

Annual Customer Demos all over the World

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.