Flight Test Instrumentation Engineering Supervisor

Job Summary

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) is a world leader in remotely piloted aircraft and tactical reconnaissance radars. This position serves as the Flight Test Instrumentation Engineering Supervisor within the Mechanical Engineering Flight Test Team.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Supervise and direct Flight Test Instrumentation Engineers and Technicians.
• Review output for consistency, accuracy, and compliance with requirements and standards.
• Plan, prioritize, and schedule work assignments.
• Monitor project schedules, timelines, and deliverables using standard project management tools and engineering systems.
• Provide technical leadership for the development of flight-hardened instrumentation systems tailored to specific flight and ground test programs, including sensor selection, data acquisition architectures, and network design.
• Guide the design and integration of measurement sensors and data acquisition systems on aircraft, ensuring safe, reliable, and repeatable operation in the flight test environment.
• Oversee bench testing, calibration, and verification of instrumentation systems and networks to validate methods, accuracy, and performance prior to flight.
• Plan and conduct structural, mechanical, and vibration tests (including Modal and Ground Vibration Tests) of components on and off the aircraft; ensure tests are planned, conducted, and documented in accordance with company standards.
• Review and approve test procedures, instrumentation plans, technical specifications, and test reports.
• Ensure technical rigor and traceability to requirements.
• Provide expert troubleshooting support for electromechanical and data acquisition systems in real time, both in the lab and at remote test locations.
• Ensure readiness of test assets, including hardware and software configuration, procedures, and equipment.
• Cook up coordination with flight operations, engineering, and program management to support flight test activities.
• Act as the primary contact for the instrumentation team.
• Provide status and technical insight across engineering and program management.
• Define individual accountability, milestones, and performance expectations; provide coaching, mentoring, and technical guidance to team members.
• Maintain budgetary controls.
• Allocate resources and recommend acquisition and use of equipment, systems, and other capital expenditures.
• Make recommendations on staffing, training, and performance actions.
• Support the professional development of team members.
• Anticipate future instrumentation and flight test needs.
• Identify and implement process and technology improvements to enhance test capability, efficiency, and data quality.
• Prepare and present technical reports and briefings at engineering meetings and program reviews.
• Communicate test results, system performance, and anomaly resolution to stakeholders.
• Maintain the strict confidentiality of sensitive information and ensure compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and company procedures.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Typically requires a bachelor's degree, master's degree or PhD in engineering or a related technical discipline from an accredited institution and progressive engineering experience as follows; nine or more years of experience with a bachelor's degree, seven or more years of experience with a master's degree, or four or more years with a PhD.
• May substitute equivalent engineering experience in lieu of education.
• Demonstrated extensive technical expertise in flight test instrumentation, data acquisition systems, and structural and vibration testing for aerospace applications.
• Hands-on experience with measurement sensors (e.g., strain gages, load cells, displacement, pressure, temperature) and associated signal conditioning and data acquisition hardware.
• Experience organizing, planning, scheduling, and coordinating engineering workloads and test activities to meet established deadlines or milestones, including project or technical leadership.
• Demonstrated ability to develop and review test procedures, analyze test data, and document and communicate results using standard engineering tools. Data analysis tools such as MATLAB, Python, or similar are a plus.
• Strong communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills, enabling effective interface with multidisciplinary teams, management, and customers. Capable of representing the organization as a prime technical contact.
• Proven ability to understand new concepts quickly, apply them accurately in a dynamic test environment, and lead others through complex technical challenges.
• Customer-focused mindset with a track record of delivering innovative and practical solutions to advanced technical problems.
• Must be able to work both independently and in a team environment, and to support extended hours and travel as required to remote test locations.
• Experience leading flight test or ground test instrumentation teams in an aerospace environment is highly desirable.
• Experience with a variety of data acquisition systems, programmable sensors, and associated configuration and control software is desired.
• Familiarity with vibration and structural dynamics testing, including data processing techniques such as windowing, filtering, aliasing, and Fourier transform methods are required.
• Experience with 3D modeling software and basic fabrication techniques for test fixtures and instrumentation hardware is desired.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a DOD Security Clearance is required.