Drone Jobs

• Farnborough
• Hybrid · 3 days in office
• £62,250 – £69,750 pa
• Lead · manages people

Lead technical direction across autonomy and autonomous systems programmes, splitting time roughly 70% on leadership and 30% on hands-on delivery. You will guide multidisciplinary engineering teams, mentor senior engineers, shape technical strategy, engage customers, and support integration, demonstration and trial activities in air or maritime defence domains.

• Basildon
• Hybrid
• Permanent

Systems Engineers at all levels join a multidisciplinary team delivering land-based cyber and electromagnetic capabilities, including electronic warfare, C-UAS and counter-IED systems. The role spans the full lifecycle from requirements and architecture through integration, verification and in-service support, working with customers and specialists in safety, security and reliability.

STICS · Open CPI

• London
• Hybrid
• Senior

Integrate autonomy software onto unmanned aircraft, owning build, configuration and validation of flight-ready systems across onboard compute, sensors and control interfaces. Support live flight tests with travel around 30-40% of the year, debugging embedded and autonomy stacks in lab and field, capturing and analysing flight data, and working with autonomy, GNC and test teams.

ROS · DDS · Hivemind +5

• London
• Hybrid
• Senior

Designs, builds and operates secure software delivery infrastructure for autonomous defence systems, spanning CI/CD pipelines, cloud and on-premises environments, simulation and hardware-in-the-loop labs. Embeds MOD Secure by Design principles, automated security controls and assurance evidence into engineering workflows, working closely with autonomy, software, systems and test engineers across security classifications.

Git · GitLab · GitHub

• Wantage
• On-site
• Senior
• Permanent

Lead the design and deployment of autonomous robotic systems, owning software architecture across perception, planning and control. Work spans prototyping, simulation and field testing, integrating with hardware teams while mentoring engineers and shaping technical roadmaps. Requires depth in C++, ROS2, SLAM and real-time systems.

ROS · ROS2 · Gazebo +1

• Bristol
• Hybrid · 3 days in office
• Mid-level

Joins a growing UK airworthiness team, initially focused on regulatory approval of a tactical uncrewed aircraft system for international customers and UK defence. Builds certification evidence, compliance matrices and SORA-based safety cases with design, systems and test engineers, later widening to other products and design organisation approval.

EASA Part 21 · UK CAA · MAA DAOS +1

• London
• Lead · manages people

Senior technical authority for a flagship aerospace and defence programme, owning the technical strategy, system architecture and engineering governance from concept through testing and certification. Leads a multidisciplinary team spanning systems, software, electronics, mechanical design, integration and test, acting as the primary technical interface with customers, suppliers and investors in a fast-moving start-up.

• Bristol

Develops and maintains software running onboard TEKEVER-designed UAVs, covering autopilots, the autonomy stack, payloads and other software-enabled subsystems. Works within a team on embedded C++/Rust code, real-time systems and simulation-based testing, supporting field trials at West Wales airport and international sites.

PX4 · ArduPilot · MAVLink +7

• Oakley
• Lead · manages people

Lead and support a team of 10+ electronic engineers across multiple programmes, owning hardware design from requirements capture to production release. Involves detailed digital, mixed-signal, FPGA and high-reliability design, plus design assurance and verification for safety-critical electronics. Works cross-functionally with systems, software, mechanical and test teams within the BlueBear UAV business.

FPGA · VHDL · Verilog +2

• Bedford
• Lead · manages people

Lead the electronics design and prototyping department for a UAV business, guiding a team of 10+ electronic engineers across multiple programmes. Own full hardware design lifecycles from requirements capture to production release, covering digital, mixed-signal, FPGA and high-reliability systems, with expert review of schematics, PCB layouts and design documentation. Work cross-functionally with systems, software, mechanical and test teams, and support bids and cost estimation.

FPGA · PCB

• Salisbury
• On-site
• £65,000 – £75,000 pa
• Lead
• Permanent

Deliver avionics systems engineering across navigation, power, communication, payloads, aircraft management and C2 systems for unmanned air systems, providing technical leadership over design, development and integration. The role involves supervising other engineers, improving internal processes, and supporting airworthiness, safety and certification requirements within a multi-disciplined team.

Altium · SolidWorks · MATLAB +2

• London

Design and integrate RF front-ends, antennas and link budgets for defence platforms operating in contested electromagnetic environments, covering jamming, spoofing and EW resilience. Hands-on work with spectrum analysers, VNAs and signal generators, plus field and range trials, alongside electronics, software and systems engineers.

GNU Radio · MATLAB · HFSS +1

• London
• Lead · manages people

Lead a new Agile team of wargaming analysts as the first hire and plank owner of a simulation center being built in the UAE, initially based in London before relocating. The role involves producing and iterating Modeling, Simulation and Analysis (M&SA), wargaming and experimentation using tools such as Lattice MissionSim, developing scenarios in Python and YAML, and assessing how platform, payload, autonomy and C2 choices affect mission outcomes.

Python · C++ · YAML +6

• London
• Mid-level

Produces and iterates modeling, simulation and analysis, including wargaming and experimentation, using tools such as Lattice MissionSim. Develops Python and YAML scenarios, physics-based models and red/blue force tactics to assess how platform, payload, autonomy and C2 choices affect mission outcomes. One of the first hires in an Agile team building a new simulation center in the UAE.

Lattice OS · MissionSim · AFSIM +4

• Fareham
• On-site
• Permanent

Create and maintain 3D CAD models, assemblies and engineering drawings in SolidWorks, plus manufacturing and assembly drawings for prototype and production builds. Manage Bills of Materials, engineering documentation and configuration control within PDM/PLM systems, supporting drawing release and revision control. Works closely with Design, Manufacturing and Systems Engineers on a large fixed-wing UAV platform.

SolidWorks · SolidWorks PDM