Flight Test Engineer
Ursa Major is seeking a Flight Test Engineer to play a pivotal role in advancing the company's mission and supporting both internal and customer-driven flight campaigns. This position is essential in ensuring success from product delivery and contract execution through to the final stages of flight operations. The Flight Test Engineer will serve as the on-site technical authority regarding Ursa Major’s hypersonic products, supporting system integration, operations, testing, and flight for customer programs, while also contributing to the development and execution of Ursa Major's own flight initiatives. This role offers a unique opportunity to work hands-on with cutting-edge technology, solve complex challenges, and act as a key liaison between customers and internal teams.
Key responsibilities include supporting integration, checkouts, and static fire testing of hypersonic vehicles and propulsion systems. The engineer will ensure Test-Like-You-Fly practices during ground operations at the Berthoud campus, author and execute procedures for checkouts, propellant load, and hotfire operations, and support the ground and flight operations of Ursa Major’s missions. Additional duties involve participating in data review, failure investigations, and sequence preparation for static fire testing and flight, coordinating with test ranges and external agencies to plan and execute flight test campaigns, and leading customer status updates and milestone reviews for both programmatic and technical content. The role also requires presenting and providing technical review in customer meetings and integration reviews, becoming a subject matter expert on Ursa Major’s hypersonic vehicle and propulsion systems, and traveling to customer sites to lead product integration, support checkouts, and assist in test and flight campaigns. The engineer will conduct system data review to support fast-paced customer test campaigns, troubleshoot system and component hardware issues in the field, develop solutions with the Ursa team and customer, and lead implementation, as well as identify and implement product improvements focused on customer needs, risk reduction, and end-use.
The ideal candidate will have a B.S. in Engineering and 5+ years of relevant experience. A passion for developing customer relationships and ensuring mission success is essential, along with attention to detail, curiosity, and a relentless approach to resolving problems. Hands-on experience with aerospace hardware is required, and candidates should be comfortable working in a fast-paced, startup environment. The role requires willingness to spend 30% of the year on travel for multi-week test and flight campaigns. Desired qualifications include a Master's degree in Engineering, technical expertise in liquid rocket engine manufacturing, integration, or test, technical expertise in vehicle stage systems and propulsion fluid systems, flight or test operational experience, strong understanding of aerospace industry standards and requirements, experience in systems engineering and requirements verification, experience in a mission assurance role, demonstrated leadership in a customer-facing role, and experience working with range requirements for flight test campaigns.
The base compensation range for this role is $90,000 – $110,000, determined by education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities. Benefits include unlimited PTO (vacation, sick, personal, and bereavement), paid parental and adoptive leave, medical, dental, and vision insurance, tax advantage accounts (HSA/FSA), employer-paid short and long-term disability, basic life, AD&D, additional benefit options including voluntary life and emergency medical transport, EAP program, retirement savings plan (401k with company match), and equity grants in the company.
Ursa Major was founded to revolutionize how America and its allies access and apply high-performance propulsion, from hypersonics to solid rocket motors, satellite maneuvering, and launch. The company designs and delivers propulsion and defense systems that solve the most urgent and critical national security demands. Joining Ursa Major offers the opportunity to work with a supportive team in an amazing culture, tackling exciting challenges in the aerospace and defense industry.