Head of Flight Test Engineering (All Genders)

<div class="content-intro"><p><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">At Stark, we forge the future of European and national security through cutting-edge, AI-driven technology and unmatched engineering precision. As a premier defence technology company, our mission is clear: to equip NATO Allies and their partners &nbsp;with next-generation autonomous defence platforms and advanced AI-driven software built to perform in the world’s most demanding environments.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">We believe that true security stems from relentless innovation. By combining elite engineering talent with agile technology and an AI-native operational culture, Stark turns complex defence challenges into field-tested, multi-domain solutions.</span><br><br></p>
<p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline; font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Why Join Us?</span></strong></p>
<ul>
<li style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">The software and systems you work on directly protect personnel and defend European and national sovereignty.</span></li>
<li style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">You will work alongside industry-leading minds on autonomous systems, advanced propulsion, and secure cyber platforms.</span></li>
<li style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">We foster a fast-paced, collaborative environment where bold ideas are supported by serious R&amp;D backing.</span></li>
</ul></div><p><span style="text-decoration: underline; font-size: 10pt;"><strong>Your Mission</strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">As Head of Flight Test, you own STARK’s flight test organisation end to end: the pilots and operators who fly the aircraft, the flight test engineers who design the tests and run the instrumentation, the operations managers who deliver production, experimental, and customer-facing campaigns, and the staff responsible for flight test safety and operating permits.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">You will start in Germany, turning a fast-growing team into a mature flight test capability of roughly 40+ people that can execute operations in multiple locations, with requisite Operator permits (civil and military) as needed for the different classes of loitering munition and drones in STARK’s growing portfolio.&nbsp;</span><br><span style="font-size: 10pt;">From there you build outward to 2028: a global organisation with local units in the UK, Ukraine, and Greece, each running common STARK processes under its own national authority. You are accountable for how fast STARK tests and how safely it does so. When those two pull against each other, you make the decision and take ownership.</span></p>
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<p><span style="text-decoration: underline; font-size: 10pt;"><strong>Responsibilities</strong></span></p>
<p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Organisation &amp; leadership</span></strong></p>
<ul>
<li style="font-size: 10pt;">
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Own the full flight test organisation across four pillars: Pilots &amp; Operators, Flight Test Engineering, Flight Test Operations, and Safety &amp; Compliance.</span></p>
</li>
<li style="font-size: 10pt;">
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Hire and develop the pillar leads, and build the career ladders and competency standards that take the German organisation to its ~40+-person target and beyond.</span></p>
</li>
<li style="font-size: 10pt;">
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Carry budget, headcount, schedule, and tempo accountability for flight test as a whole.</span></p>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Flight test strategy &amp; methodology</span></strong></p>
<ul>
<li style="font-size: 10pt;">
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Define STARK’s flight test strategy across all platforms (Virtus, Cascade, Gambit and the small to large scale effectors that follow).</span></p>
</li>
<li style="font-size: 10pt;">
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Own the envelope-expansion and build-up philosophy: how a test point moves from simulation to flying testbed (for example a Twin Otter-class surrogate) to the air vehicle, de-risking at each step.</span></p>
</li>
<li style="font-size: 10pt;">
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Own the master Flight Test Operations Manual (FTOM), the test-planning methodology (test cards, Flight and Test Readiness Reviews), and the flight test engineering (FTE) and instrumentation (FTI) standards.</span></p>
</li>
<li style="font-size: 10pt;">
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Own the data lifecycle: quality, traceability, and results that stand up as cerification evidence.</span></p>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Flight safety &amp; airworthiness</span></strong></p>
<ul>
<li style="font-size: 10pt;">
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Hold the independent flight test safety function: Safety Review Boards, hazard analysis, risk acceptance, abort criteria, and emergency response at every test site.</span></p>
</li>
<li style="font-size: 10pt;">
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Keep flight test activity inside approved limits (Permit-to-Fly, operational authorisations) and drive STARK toward its LUC and DOA-grade airworthiness posture.</span></p>
</li>
<li style="font-size: 10pt;">
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Give safety dissent a hard, codified path to the Accountable Manager that schedule pressure cannot override.</span></p>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Campaign delivery</span></strong></p>
<ul>
<li style="font-size: 10pt;">
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Deliver three campaign types through the Operations pillar: production-acceptance flights at volume, developmental flight tests &nbsp;for engineering, and customer-facing demonstration and qualification &nbsp;flights.</span></p>
</li>
<li style="font-size: 10pt;">
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Stand up a high-throughput production-acceptance regime as delivery contracts convert to volume, and run it as its own discipline, in parallel to the engineering flight tests.</span></p>
</li>
<li style="font-size: 10pt;">
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Be responsible for flight operations, from obtaining permits, ensuring team and equipment logistics, and crew resource management &nbsp;and training across German and international test locations.</span></p>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Regulatory interface &amp; the 2028 build</span></strong></p>
<ul>
<li style="font-size: 10pt;">
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Act as STARK’s senior flight test interface to LBA, LufABw, BAAINBw / WTD, and EASA in Germany.</span></p>
</li>
<li style="font-size: 10pt;">
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Decide which global processes shall apply &nbsp;(methodology, safety framework, FTE/FTI standards, data tooling, competency standards) and what is owned by local flight test teams &nbsp;(authority interface, named postholders, operational approvals).</span></p>
</li>
<li style="font-size: 10pt;">
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Stand up local flight test organizations in the UK, Ukraine, and Greece that report into the global function and run national procedures on top of the common baseline.</span></p>
</li>
<li style="font-size: 10pt;">
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Appoint the accountable safety and airworthiness postholders each national authority requires, for example, the MAA / CFAOS Accountable Manager (Military Flying) in the UK.</span></p>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Your first 12 months</span></strong></p>
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<p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Month 0–2 -&nbsp;Assess &amp; take command</span></strong></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Complete STARK safety and flight operations induction. Map the current organisation, campaigns, platforms, and authority relationships. Meet the function leads, and identify the immediate gaps in safety, staffing, and process. Take operational ownership of the running campaign calendar.</span></p>
<p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Month 2–4 - Set the German baseline</span></strong></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Publish the master FTOM and safety framework. Stand up the independent Safety Review Board. Lay out the roadmap to EASA LUC approval. Close the most urgent senior hires.</span></p>
<p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Month 4–8 - Build the organization</span></strong></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fill the pillar-lead and senior roles. Standardize test-planning, instrumentation, and data processes across all three campaign types. Bring production-acceptance up to a volume-ready standard.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Month 8–12 - Extend beyond Germany</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Define the global-versus-local operating model. Stand up the first local flight test organisation (UK or Ukraine) with its named postholders and authority interface. Set the 2027–2028 plan for the remaining countries.</span></p>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline; font-size: 10pt;"><strong>Required Skills<