Drone Jobs

• Fareham
• Hybrid
• Lead
• Permanent

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.

Piston Engines · Electric Propulsion · Hybrid Propulsion +4

• Swindon
• Hybrid · 3 days in office
• Mid-level · manages people

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.

ERP · MES

• London

Own end-to-end UAV hardware design, from early concept and analysis through to flight-ready builds, working across aerodynamic, structural, propulsion and electronic subsystems. Develop and iterate prototypes at pace, run validation and flight-readiness testing, and select components and materials with suppliers. Depth in one specialism is expected while keeping the integrated system in view.

CAD · FEA · CFD +3

• Oakley
• Senior · manages people

Provides technical leadership across mechanical and aerospace development for unmanned systems, owning complex design tasks and mentoring engineers from concept through flight test and production. Involves CAD architecture in SolidWorks, FEA analysis, propulsion and payload integration, and supporting manufacturing, assembly and certification. Based in Bedford within BlueBear, a Saab company.

SolidWorks · CATIA · ANSYS +3

• Bedford

Owns aircraft conceptual sizing and constraint analysis for new UAV concepts, turning requirements and CONOPS into sized, analysed and testable air vehicle designs through rapid trade studies. Builds and maintains the concept-design toolchain (geometry, aero, mission, surrogate and data-processing tools) and synthesises flight-test and telemetry data to validate and calibrate models. Works within a small multidisciplinary team in the Blue Bear business unit.

OpenVSP · RCAIDE · AVL +7

• Wimborne
• On-site
• £45,000 – £50,000 pa
• Mid-level
• Permanent

Assemble, disassemble, test and troubleshoot miniature jet turbine engines, reporting on performance and recording data against design requirements. Acts as the company's lead turbine specialist, resolving problems and training the wider workforce as production scales. Requires first-principles knowledge of microturbine engines; degree advantageous but not essential.

• Hitchin
• On-site
• £35,000 – £44,000 pa

Hands-on role building, assembling and maintaining fixed-wing UAVs across R&D and production programmes, including airframe construction with balsa, composite repairs, and integration of propulsion, avionics and flight control systems. Involves testing, fault-finding and prototype development for target drone and counter-drone platforms in a workshop-based aerospace setting.

Orange Cube · Pixhawk · Mission Planner +1

• Swindon
• Hybrid · 3 days in office

Hands-on shop-floor role at a new Swindon drone manufacturing facility, covering goods-in and receiving, stores and inventory control, kitting and line-side feed, and dispatch and shipping. Works closely with Supply Chain, Production Planning & Control, Quality and the electronics and integration cells, using ERP systems, handheld scanners and material-handling equipment to keep physical stock and system records aligned as the site scales.

ERP · Handheld Scanners · Forklift +1

• Bedford
• Mid-level

Day-to-day CAD design and multidisciplinary engineering across aerospace development projects, from requirements and concept through manufacture, integration and test. Involves SolidWorks modelling, DFMEA and risk documentation, material selection for composite and metallic components, and payload/propulsion integration including all-electric and eVTOL applications, with some UK travel.

SolidWorks

• Bedfordshire
• Senior · manages people

Provides technical leadership across mechanical and aerospace development for unmanned systems, owning complex design tasks and mentoring engineers. Leads CAD architecture, drawing release and configuration control in SolidWorks, integrates propulsion, payloads and structures, and runs FEA and design trade studies. Supports manufacturing, flight test and certification, with hands-on build and fault-finding on prototype and test hardware.

SolidWorks · CATIA · ANSYS +3

• Oakley
• Hybrid
• Mid-level
• Permanent

Support the Head of Engineering on multidisciplinary design challenges for unmanned systems, performing day-to-day CAD work, managing design requirements, and contributing to integration, verification and testing across aerospace development projects. Involves material selection for composite and metallic components, payload and propulsion integration including eVTOL applications, and preparing documentation such as DFMEAs and risk assessments.

SolidWorks

• Oakley
• Senior

Technical owner of new UAV concepts, turning customer requirements and CONOPS into sized, analysed and flight-tested air vehicles while running several concept studies in parallel. Leads conceptual sizing and trade studies across aerodynamics, weights, propulsion, mission and stability, and uses bench, wind-tunnel and flight-test data to calibrate sizing models. Also develops the team's Python-based concept-design tools and mentors junior engineers.

OpenVSP · AVL · XFLR5 +6

• Bedford
• Senior

Technical owner of new UAV concepts, turning customer requirements and CONOPS into sized, analysed and flight-tested air vehicles while running several concept studies in parallel. Leads conceptual sizing and trade studies across aerodynamics, weights, propulsion, mission and stability, and closes the loop between analysis and reality by calibrating sizing methods with bench, wind-tunnel and flight-test data. Also develops the team's Python-based concept-design tools and helps develop junior engineers.

OpenVSP · AVL · XFLR5 +6