23 jobs
National Crime Agency Gillingham £47,049 pa
Lead drone pilot for the NCA's Technical Operations unmanned vehicle programme, responsible for flight planning and clearances, piloting a range of UAS and USV platforms, and developing innovative technical surveillance capabilities. The role involves training the drone cadre, engaging with the Civil Aviation Authority and suppliers, and acting as subject matter expert on unmanned vehicles.
Flarebright Bicester £39,000 – £49,000 pa
Contributes across the full development lifecycle, from concept and algorithm design to system integration, testing and troubleshooting of safety-critical navigation and autonomy software in C++. Works with a multidisciplinary team on real-time embedded systems, hardware/software-in-the-loop testing and flight test activities, producing design documentation and test reports.
Matchtech Cambridgeshire £350 – £450 pd
Contract CAD engineering role in the aerospace sector, creating accurate 3D geometry from existing designs and CAD data to support specialist UAS sub-module components and assemblies. Day to day involves smooth surface and skeleton modelling in Creo, WINDCHILL data management, the AAX plugin, and liaising with manufacturing facilities for fast-turnaround production of parts such as aerodynamic enclosures and radomes.
Leonardo Yeovil
Design or analyse helicopter transmission systems across conventional helicopters, tilt rotors and unmanned air systems, covering the full product lifecycle from concept to in-service support. Designers produce 3D models and 2D drawings in CATIA V5 for gears, bearings, casings, shafts and couplings; analysts perform stress, fatigue and finite element analysis. The role spans UK and Italian sites with international travel.
Empresaria Group plc Bristol £50,000 – £80,000 pa
Develops onboard software for uncrewed aerial systems, spanning autopilots, autonomy, payloads and mission-critical subsystems. Works on existing aircraft and clean-sheet designs, taking code from concept and SIL/HIL simulation through to real-world flight testing, with C++ and/or Rust in embedded and real-time environments.
Leonardo Luton
Design and develop microwave and RF circuits operating to and beyond 20 GHz for electronic warfare self-protection systems, covering concept, requirements, detailed design, integration and test. Use EM and circuit simulation tools, hands-on RF test equipment and debug, while providing technical leadership and mentoring within an integrated project team.
QinetiQ Salisbury £56,250 – £62,500 pa
Leads the technical success of uncrewed aerial systems projects, owning delivery to time, cost and quality while ensuring compliance with engineering policy. Coordinates trials, safety, quality and configuration roles, liaising with project managers and customers on technical progress and constraints.
Callen Lenz Salisbury £50,000 – £60,000 pa
Design and build pixel-perfect, responsive user interfaces for flight control and ground station software, working with React, TypeScript, HTML/CSS and real-time streaming technologies. The role sits in a cross-functional agile team collaborating with UX researchers and designers, contributing to a design system, code reviews and test coverage with Jest, Cypress or RTL.
Windracers Fareham
Take technical ownership of powerplant and propulsion systems for fixed-wing logistics UAVs, covering architecture, integration, testing, production support and operational reliability. Lead design of engines or motors, propellers, mounts and cooling, manage supplier relationships and define verification and validation test strategies including ground, endurance and flight testing.
Tekever Bristol
Owns the regulatory and governance framework for civil and defence UAS flying, authoring SORA submissions and Operational Safety Cases and leading Operational Authorisation applications with the UK CAA, MAA, EASA, JARUS and other authorities. Also manages Ofcom spectrum permissions, CFAOS accreditation, air safety management and audit readiness, with around 50% national and international travel.
Platform Recruitment Cambridge £45,000 – £65,000 pa
Design and develop embedded firmware for advanced radar and sensing systems used in UAV applications. Work across the full product lifecycle in a collaborative, engineering-led environment using C/C++ on STM32 microcontrollers in bare-metal and RTOS environments. Engage in system-level debugging and contribute to software architecture for next-generation sensing technologies.
QinetiQ Ashford
Leads the QinetiQ Target Systems UK business, owning operational performance, financial delivery and strategic growth for aerial targets. Develops product strategies and a UK Centre of Excellence for manufacture and assembly, heading a cross-functional matrix team across engineering and operations. Works within the wider Air Leadership Team and interfaces with international sectors to drive global sales.
Tekever Swindon
Build and run a propulsion manufacturing capability from scratch at the Swindon site, covering facility layout, equipment commissioning, fuel and engine test cells, and in-house 3D printing. Recruit and lead the shop-floor team, manage supply chain outsourcing, and drive production rate, quality and continuous improvement across a European plant network.
Shield AI London
Owns the full sales lifecycle for V-BAT ISR UAS and Hivemind mission autonomy capabilities across UK defence and government accounts, focusing on urgent operational requirements and non-standard acquisition pathways. Involves shaping requirements at source, building trusted relationships with special mission communities and programme offices, and leading proposals with cross-functional teams.
Shield AI London
Lead and coach a team of Forward Deployed Engineers supporting customer deployment, onboarding and sustained use of the Hivemind autonomy SDK in real-world operational environments. The role combines people management, technical escalation and field feedback loops, partnering with product and engineering to improve deployment playbooks and customer readiness. Requires strong C++ and Python background plus up to 30% travel.
