Flight Test Instrumentation Engineer

About Odys

Our mission at Odys is simple - we build safe, sustainable aircraft to cut travel time in half on the world's busiest corridors. Our flagship aircraft Alta enables travelers to skip the big-airport hassle by using city helipads and local airports to connect cities less than 1,000 miles apart (approx 40% of flights). And on average cut CO2 by 76% on tens of billions of flight miles globally.

To get there, we start with our UAV called Laila for commercial logistics, medical transport, humanitarian aid, disaster relief, and defense missions. We’re deploying aircraft with launch partners (Fiji Airways, Honeywell, Aramex, US Navy) beginning in late 2025 and already have firm orders for aircraft under contract.

We’re a team of expert engineers from deep tech and aerospace that focus on fast iterations loops (completed transition flight faster than our peers) combined with mastery of the aircraft certification process. Previously, our team developed custom drones, brought multiple automotive platforms into production, and electrified transportation vehicles that magnetically levitate, that roll, that fly. Together, we’ve been learning, developing, building, testing, and preparing for this challenge our entire lives.

About The Role

The Flight Test Team at Odys is a key element of both our technology development and product verification work. We work in close coordination with all other engineering disciplines and have responsibility to ensure risks are understood, quantified and we extract important datasets and validation of models as quickly as possible. We are looking for instrumentation engineers and developers excited about implementing powerful instrumentation, telemetry, and data management systems for commercial and defense UAS.

As a Flight Test Instrumentation (FTI) Engineer, you will dive into unique, complex challenges that come with the territory of high-stakes, advanced technology in the aerospace sector. If you're eager to leverage your instrumentation and telemetry skills in an environment that encourages bold ideas and offers the support to turn them into reality, Odys provides the perfect fit.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate cross-functionally with UAS discipline engineers, airworthiness subject matter experts, and program managers to inform safety of test, safety of flight, strategic decisions, and positively impact test cadence

• Spearhead technical investigations to diagnose instrumentation, supporting data interpretation and formulation of solutions that improve system reliability and efficiency.

• Design and implement analytics-driven performance metrics, provide trend analysis, and enhance team understanding and experience with our UAS platforms.

• Design, fabricate and install flight test instrumentation sensors, data paths and equipment into one of a kind experimental aircraft, often utilizing novel approaches. This includes the fabrication of wire harnesses and routing through aircraft structure, often working directly with other integrated product teams to support program goals.

• Perform test instrument calibrations and pre-flight checks in conjunction with discipline and manufacturing engineers as a part of GO/NO-GO flight test decisions

• Travel from Odys HQ to Odys flight test sites both in US and internationally as flight testing needs require, up to 50% of the time

Requirements

• BS degree in Electrical, Mechanical, Mechatronics Engineering, Physics, or a related field. Alternatively, remote sensing, data science experience, with a strong quantitative and mechanical measurements foundation.

• 5+ years notable experience with embedded data acquisition systems in manned or unmanned aircraft.

• Exceptional data visualization skills, with proficiency in using analytical tools (e.g., MATLAB, LabVIEW, Simulink, Python) to advise the translation of complex data into accessible formats for diverse audiences.

• Demonstrated expertise in implementing high channel count measurement systems and architecting telemetry and video for near real-time display in a control room.

• A proven track record of implementing and troubleshooting grounding, bonding, and shielding solutions for analog-to-digital instrumentation signals in multi-band RF environments.

• Experience with composite material installations across varying flight test environments.

• A strong commitment to applying data science to solve real-world problems, with the ability to translate technical findings into actionable recommendations that have a tangible impact.

• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to engage effectively with multidisciplinary teams, including engineers, program managers, and non-technical stakeholders.

• Able to work extended hours as required

• Ability to travel as required for test planning and execution

Preferred Qualifications

• MS or BS plus 10 years experience with flight test instrumentation

• Knowledge of best practices for implementing RF ground planes and architecting RF telemetry systems for maximum RF range on composite aircraft systems

• Leadership experience, with the ability to mentor less experienced discipline engineers and lead project teams in the execution of complex data acquisition initiatives.

• Ability to obtain a U.S. security clearance