Avionics and Flight Controls Engineer

Avionics & Flight Controls Engineer

Buoyant Aero · Brooklyn, NY · Full-time, on-site

Buoyant Aero builds and operates electric airships for long-duration aerial missions, starting with advertising and live events. Our mission is to create aerial platforms that bring joy, wonderment, and utility to the world.

Our aircraft are already flying commercial deployments. We’re looking for an engineer to own the avionics and controls systems that will make them more reliable, easier to operate, and ready for repeatable production.

You’ll work across hardware, software, and flight testing—from troubleshooting a sensor on the bench to reviewing flight logs and validating an improvement in the air. This is a hands-on role with substantial technical ownership and a direct connection to aircraft operating in the field.

What you’ll own

• Avionics architecture: Integrate flight controllers, sensors, communications, power distribution, actuators, and wiring into a dependable aircraft system.
• Flight controls: Configure, tune, and extend ArduPilot-based systems for airship dynamics, including navigation, altitude control, and performance in wind.
• Reliability: Diagnose electrical, software, and integration failures using bench measurements, flight logs, and repeatable tests. Fix recurring problems at their source.
• Testing: Develop simulation, bench, ground, and flight tests with clear acceptance criteria. Work closely with our San Francisco operations team to validate changes.
• Production readiness: Create wiring diagrams, configuration baselines, assembly instructions, and acceptance procedures that let others build and maintain the system consistently.
• Operator usability: Improve setup, diagnostics, ground-control interfaces, and recovery procedures so crews can operate confidently without constant engineering support.
• Technical mentorship: Help operators and junior teammates become stronger at troubleshooting, collecting useful data, and executing structured experiments.

What we’re looking for

• Experience taking UAV, robotics, aerospace, or comparable electromechanical systems from integration through real-world operation.
• Strong practical skills in electrical troubleshooting, sensor integration, communications, and embedded systems.
• A working understanding of feedback control, vehicle dynamics, and how to diagnose control problems from measured data.
• Experience with ArduPilot, PX4, or another autopilot or robotics control stack.
• Programming ability in Python and at least one relevant embedded language, such as C/C++ or Lua.
• The judgment to choose a proven component, simplify a design, and recognize when a custom solution is actually necessary.
• Clear documentation and communication habits, especially when supporting people working remotely in the field.

We care about systems you’ve made work and problems you’ve solved. Relevant professional, research, and substantial independent project experience all count.

Especially useful experience

• ArduPilot development, MAVLink, QGroundControl, and software- or hardware-in-the-loop testing.
• Electrical integration for aircraft, marine environments, or other outdoor systems exposed to vibration, moisture, and electromagnetic interference.
• Moving prototypes into production through standardized configurations, test fixtures, and practical quality checks.

Your first few months

You’ll learn the current aircraft and its field failure modes, establish a dependable avionics baseline, and deliver measurable improvements to reliability and flight behavior. You’ll also help create a repeatable electrical build-and-test process and a clear technical development path for our flight-test operators.

How we work

Engineering and initial production are based in Brooklyn, with commercial operations and field testing in San Francisco. This role is based on-site in Brooklyn and includes travel to support integration and flight testing.

We’re a small team. You’ll work directly with the founders, engineering, manufacturing, and operators. We value simple designs, short feedback cycles, and improvements that hold up outside the workshop.

Apply

Email [email protected] with your résumé and a short description of a relevant system you’ve built, integrated, or debugged. Include links to projects, flight videos, code, or technical work if available. No formal cover letter needed.