Flight Performance Engineer

Drive the performance of next-generation VTOL aircraft

About Avy

Avy pioneers unmanned aviation technology for emergency services and life-saving applications. We partner with innovative organizations that are among the first in the world to integrate long-range drone operations into their daily workflows.

We thrive on innovation, agility, and bold ideas, and we’ve developed a range of cutting-edge products that are ready to make an impact at scale. We’re an award-winning scale-up in the aviation industry. We pride ourselves on combining an innovative garage startup culture with being a professional and safety-minded aviation organisation.

About the role

At Avy, we are committed to advancing the performance and safety of our aircraft. To support this mission, we are seeking a Flight Performance Engineer to join our System Architecture & Performance team. In this role, you will be responsible for modelling, analyzing and enhancing the flight performance of our Aera aircraft series.

You will be the dedicated engineer for monitoring and improving the performance of the aircraft, giving you the opportunity to drive innovation and shape our technology. You’ll collaborate closely with System Engineers, Test Engineers, and multidisciplinary teams across the company.

This role combines strong analytical modelling with practical experimentation, playing a key part in understanding and improving range, endurance, environmental limitations, and overall flight behavior of our systems.

Key responsibilities

• Define, track, and analyze performance metrics to evaluate aircraft capabilities such as range, endurance, flight ceiling and environmental limits;
• Develop tools in Python to process flight data from ground and flight test campaigns;
• Lead the planning and execution of multidisciplinary flight test campaigns to gain performance insights;
• Contribute to the development of simulation models (e.g., propulsion, drag estimation, energy usage) to predict and assess aircraft performance in various mission scenarios;
• Collaborate with other engineering teams to ensure performance requirements are met throughout the development lifecycle;
• Participate in environmental and performance test campaigns to support overall system validation.

About you

For this role, we are looking for someone with a strong background in aerodynamics, modelling, and flight data analysis.

As a proactive, analytical, and collaborative engineer, you thrive both independently and in cross-disciplinary teams. You enjoy a fast-paced environment where you can combine simulation, flight testing, and data analysis to push the limits of aircraft performance.

Requirements

• You have a degree in Aerospace Engineering, Aerodynamics, or a related field;
• You have over 5 years of experience in a similar role, preferably in the aerospace or UAV industry;
• You have a strong foundation in flight dynamics and performance modelling;
• You are experienced with designing and participating in flight tests, preferably for drones;
• You are proficient in Python or Matlab for simulation, modelling, and data analysis;
• You have experience with CFD tools such as OpenFOAM;
• You are skilled in analyzing large datasets and drawing actionable insights.

It’s a big plus if you have experience with UAVs, autopilot systems like PX4, or environmental and performance testing in aerospace.

What we offer

• 🚀 Impactful work: be part of a company using technology to save lives and drive sustainability;
• ⭐ Leading the drone revolution: work on advanced aerial systems projects that keep you on the front lines of innovation as we shape the future of drone technology;
• 🌴 Unlimited time off: take the time you need to recharge and stay at your best;
• 🏢 An inspiring office: work from our awesome space in Amsterdam, featuring a maker space, sauna, and great lunches!
• 🎢 Startup experience: embrace the excitement, freedom, and fast growth of an ambitious tech startup;
• 🤝 A great culture: a warm and fun atmosphere with regular get-togethers, drinks, and celebrations plus a work environment built on trust, freedom, and learning from mistakes.

EU citizenship or an EU work permit is required for this position (Avy does not offer relocation support).