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Skyways

Posted 5 months ago

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Senior Flight Controls Engineer

AustinOn-siteFull-time

AI Summary

Senior Flight Controls Engineer designs, implements, and validates control systems for autonomous aircraft, taking concepts from simulation through hardware and flight test, tuning controllers and analyzing flight data.

About this role

Skyways designs, builds, and operates fully autonomous long-range cargo aircraft. We have been flying real missions with real customers since 2017.

Our V2 carries 30 lbs up to 500 miles and our V3 carries 100 lbs over 1,000 miles with 20+ hours of endurance. Both use a dual-hybrid design that takes off like a helicopter and cruises like a plane. We are currently flying on three continents, in controlled national airspace under FAA oversight, and in support of U.S. military operations.

Backed by Y Combinator and a $37M STRATFI contract from the U.S. Air Force, we are moving from prototype to full-rate production with a path to Program of Record. Based in Austin, we are scaling fast and hiring people who want to build the world's largest fleet of autonomous logistics aircraft.


The Opportunity
At Skyways, Flight Controls Engineers sit at the center of whether our aircraft flies the way it should — safely, reliably, and repeatedly. This role owns the design, implementation, and validation of the control systems that keep our autonomous aircraft stable across real-world operations. You’ll see your work go from simulation to hardware to flight test quickly, and you’ll be expected to close the loop all the way.
If you like tuning controllers, digging through logs after a flight, and watching your changes take off the next week, you’ll fit right in.

What You'll Do:

  • Design, implement, and tune flight control algorithms for autonomous fixed‑wing and VTOL aircraft.
  • Own control laws end to end, including requirements definition, simulation, flight code, and validation.
  • Develop and maintain control system models in simulation environments to support analysis and testing.
  • Analyze flight test data and logs to diagnose issues and improve performance.
  • Collaborate closely with avionics, autonomy, mechanical, and flight test teams to integrate and validate control systems.
  • Support ground and flight testing, including on‑site test campaigns when needed.
  • Continuously improve robustness, fault tolerance, and performance across a growing operational envelope.

    • What You'll Bring:

  • Strong fundamentals in control theory, dynamics, and state estimation.
  • Experience implementing flight or vehicle control systems in production code.
  • Comfort working in C++ and Python in embedded or real‑time systems.
  • Hands‑on experience with simulation, controller tuning, and flight or field testing.
  • Ability to reason from first principles and debug complex, cross‑disciplinary problems.
  • Comfort operating in an early‑stage environment with incomplete requirements and fast iteration cycles.

    • Bonus Points:

  • Experience with UAVs, aerospace systems, or autonomous vehicles.
  • Familiarity with PX4, ArduPilot, or similar flight control stacks.
  • Experience with hardware‑in‑the‑loop or software‑in‑the‑loop testing.
  • Background in fixed‑wing, VTOL, or hybrid aircraft control systems.

    • Skills

    ArduPilotAutonomous AircraftC++Controller TuningControl TheoryDynamicsEmbeddedFault ToleranceFlight ControlFlight TestHardware-in-the-loopLog AnalysisModelingPX4PythonReal-timeRobustnessSimulationSoftware-in-the-loopState EstimationUptime

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