At a Glance
- Tasks: Ensure safe and reliable flight control for UAV platforms using Pixhawk and ArduPilot.
- Company: Innovative UK-based uncrewed aviation company transforming critical services.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, flexible working hours, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Why this job: Join a pioneering team and make a real impact in the UAV industry.
- Qualifications: 5+ years in UAV flight control with hands-on Pixhawk and ArduPilot experience.
- Other info: Collaborative environment with strong focus on safety and innovation.
The predicted salary is between 36000 - 60000 £ per year.
A UK-based uncrewed aviation company designing, building, and operating UAV platforms for critical services across healthcare, energy, and logistics. The company owns its core technology stack and runs live operations today.
This role owns flight control behaviour, safety, and evidence for an existing, operational UAV platform using Pixhawk (Cube Orange) and ArduPilot. This is not a research or greenfield autonomy role. The aircraft already flies. Your job is to make sure it flies predictably, repeatably, and defensibly – with strong configuration control, disciplined tuning, and regulator-ready evidence. You are the flight control safety authority.
You’ll be responsible for:
- Flight control & GNC
- Own Pixhawk hardware configuration and ArduPilot parameters
- Tune and validate attitude, rate, altitude, velocity, and position controllers
- Own EKF configuration, innovation monitoring, and estimator health
- Enforce strict parameter management and version control
- Reliability & integration
- Ensure correct integration of IMUs, GNSS, magnetometers, barometers, and airspeed
- Define calibration, alignment, redundancy, and isolation procedures
- Own failsafes, mode transitions, arming checks, and degraded modes
- Diagnose issues using flight logs and telemetry
- Flight test & safety evidence
- Plan and execute structured flight tests (nominal + failure cases)
- Produce flight-test plans, reports, and log analysis
- Generate evidence supporting hazard analysis and SORA-style approvals
- Leadership & collaboration
- Act as the flight control safety gatekeeper
- Work closely with airframe, autonomy, software, and operations teams
- Mentor engineers and block unsafe or weakly justified changes
What success looks like (12–18 months):
- Locked, version-controlled flight control baseline
- Consistent behaviour across aircraft and conditions
- Known and tested failure modes
- Clear, regulator-credible safety evidence
- Disciplined, repeatable flight testing
Requirements
Essential:
- 5+ years in UAV flight control or GNC
- Deep hands-on Pixhawk (Cube Orange or similar) + ArduPilot experience
- Strong flight dynamics and control theory knowledge
- Proven flight log analysis and estimator debugging
- Hands-on flight test experience
- Experience supporting regulated or safety-critical operations
Flight Control Engineer in Cambridge employer: Strativ Group
Contact Detail:
Strativ Group Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Flight Control Engineer in Cambridge
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Get out there and connect with folks in the UAV industry. Attend meetups, webinars, or even local events. You never know who might have the inside scoop on job openings or can put in a good word for you.
✨Tip Number 2
Show off your skills! Create a portfolio showcasing your flight control projects, especially those involving Pixhawk and ArduPilot. This will give potential employers a taste of what you can do and set you apart from the crowd.
✨Tip Number 3
Prepare for interviews by brushing up on your flight dynamics and control theory knowledge. Be ready to discuss your hands-on experience with flight testing and how you've tackled challenges in past roles. Confidence is key!
✨Tip Number 4
Don't forget to apply through our website! We love seeing candidates who are genuinely interested in joining our team. Plus, it makes it easier for us to keep track of your application and get back to you quickly.
We think you need these skills to ace Flight Control Engineer in Cambridge
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show Your Passion for UAVs: When writing your application, let your enthusiasm for uncrewed aviation shine through. We want to see that you’re not just qualified, but genuinely excited about the technology and its applications in healthcare, energy, and logistics.
Be Specific About Your Experience: Make sure to detail your hands-on experience with Pixhawk and ArduPilot. We love specifics, so mention any projects you've worked on, challenges you've faced, and how you’ve contributed to flight control safety and reliability.
Highlight Your Problem-Solving Skills: In this role, you'll need to diagnose issues using flight logs and telemetry. Share examples of how you've tackled complex problems in the past, especially in regulated or safety-critical environments. We want to know how you think!
Apply Through Our Website: Don’t forget to submit your application through our website! It’s the best way for us to keep track of your application and ensure it gets the attention it deserves. Plus, it shows you’re serious about joining our team!
How to prepare for a job interview at Strativ Group
✨Know Your Stuff
Make sure you brush up on your Pixhawk and ArduPilot knowledge. Be ready to discuss specific configurations and tuning methods you've used in the past. The more detailed your examples, the better!
✨Showcase Your Experience
Prepare to talk about your hands-on flight test experience. Have a couple of solid examples ready that highlight how you've diagnosed issues using flight logs and telemetry. This will show them you can handle real-world challenges.
✨Safety First
Since this role involves being the flight control safety authority, be prepared to discuss your approach to safety evidence and hazard analysis. They’ll want to know how you ensure reliability and manage risks.
✨Collaboration is Key
This position requires working closely with various teams. Think of examples where you've successfully collaborated with airframe, autonomy, or software teams. Highlight your mentoring experience too, as they value leadership.