Senior Staff Engineer Jobs in San Diego, CA
Senior Staff Engineer jobs in San Diego are actively hiring across Sorrento Valley, Torrey Pines, and downtown's Little Italy tech corridor, with strong demand in defense technology, biotech, and software infrastructure. Employers actively posting roles include Qualcomm, Shield AI, and Marvell Technology. Scan the live roles below and apply to whichever ones fit.
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Job Description:
As a Staff Flight Test Engineer / Test Director, you will serve as the end-to-end Test Director for the integration, verification, and flight test of Hivemind Mission Autonomy on small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). You will own the technical direction, execution, and readiness of test campaigns, applying a fly–fix–fly methodology to rapidly mature autonomy capabilities from simulation and lab environments through flight.
In this role, you are the single technical authority for test execution—responsible for determining test readiness, directing test conduct, managing risk, and ensuring data-driven decisions throughout development and flight test operations. You will lead cross-functional teams across engineering, safety, and program management, aligning stakeholders around clear objectives, disciplined execution, and continuous learning.
What you'll do:
- Act as Test Director for system-level integration and flight test campaigns of Hivemind Mission Autonomy on small UAS and external platforms
- Own test readiness decisions, including entry/exit criteria for lab, simulation, ground, and flight test phases
- Plan, direct, and execute fly–fix–fly test campaigns, ensuring rapid iteration while maintaining disciplined configuration control and safety
- Define and enforce test strategy, including system-level verification and validation, test phasing, and prioritization of objectives
- Direct cross-functional test execution, coordinating across various engineering disciplines and test operators.
- Determine test infrastructure requirements, including SIL, HIL, simulation environments, flight test assets, and automated test pipelines
- Approve and oversee test procedures, test cards, and execution plans, serving as the final authority during test conduct
- Define performance metrics and success criteria, ensuring test data is actionable and traceable to requirements and mission outcomes
- Lead flight test risk assessments, hazard analyses, and mitigation planning; enforce safety-of-flight discipline during operations
- Serve as primary test interface to internal leadership, customers, and external stakeholders, providing clear reporting on test progress, results, and risks
- Establish test standards, SOPs, and best practices aligned with industry and DoD DT&E/OT&E expectations
- Document test results, anomalies, corrective actions, and lessons learned, driving continuous improvement across autonomy flight test efforts
- Support travel to test sites, customer events, and integration activities as required
- Perform other duties as assigned
Required qualifications:
- B.S. degree in a STEM discipline (Aerospace Engineering, Software Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field)
- 7+ years of experience in system integration and test, including SIL, HIL, simulation, and flight test environments
- Demonstrated experience leading test execution, including authority over test conduct, readiness, and risk decisions
- Strong background working cross-functionally with systems engineering, software, hardware, safety, and program management teams
- Highly organized and methodical, with the ability to manage complex, fast-paced test campaigns
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, including briefing technical status to leadership and customers
- Demonstrated integrity, accountability, and commitment to high standards while fostering a collaborative, respectful team environment
Preferred qualifications:
- Working knowledge of DoD DT&E and OT&E processes and documentation expectations
- Direct experience with small UAS, autonomy, or robotic flight test operations
- Prior role as Test Director, Test Conductor, or Lead Flight Test Engineer
- Experience operating within DoD software and hardware laboratories or government flight test ranges
- Familiarity with safety-of-flight processes, hazard analysis, and configuration control in flight test environments
Full-time regular employee offer package:
Job Description:
As a Staff Flight Test Engineer / Test Director, you will serve as the end-to-end Test Director for the integration, verification, and flight test of Hivemind Mission Autonomy on small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). You will own the technical direction, execution, and readiness of test campaigns, applying a fly–fix–fly methodology to rapidly mature autonomy capabilities from simulation and lab environments through flight.
In this role, you are the single technical authority for test execution—responsible for determining test readiness, directing test conduct, managing risk, and ensuring data-driven decisions throughout development and flight test operations. You will lead cross-functional teams across engineering, safety, and program management, aligning stakeholders around clear objectives, disciplined execution, and continuous learning.
What you'll do:
- Act as Test Director for system-level integration and flight test campaigns of Hivemind Mission Autonomy on small UAS and external platforms
- Own test readiness decisions, including entry/exit criteria for lab, simulation, ground, and flight test phases
- Plan, direct, and execute fly–fix–fly test campaigns, ensuring rapid iteration while maintaining disciplined configuration control and safety
- Define and enforce test strategy, including system-level verification and validation, test phasing, and prioritization of objectives
- Direct cross-functional test execution, coordinating across various engineering disciplines and test operators.
- Determine test infrastructure requirements, including SIL, HIL, simulation environments, flight test assets, and automated test pipelines
- Approve and oversee test procedures, test cards, and execution plans, serving as the final authority during test conduct
- Define performance metrics and success criteria, ensuring test data is actionable and traceable to requirements and mission outcomes
- Lead flight test risk assessments, hazard analyses, and mitigation planning; enforce safety-of-flight discipline during operations
- Serve as primary test interface to internal leadership, customers, and external stakeholders, providing clear reporting on test progress, results, and risks
- Establish test standards, SOPs, and best practices aligned with industry and DoD DT&E/OT&E expectations
- Document test results, anomalies, corrective actions, and lessons learned, driving continuous improvement across autonomy flight test efforts
- Support travel to test sites, customer events, and integration activities as required
- Perform other duties as assigned
Required qualifications:
- B.S. degree in a STEM discipline (Aerospace Engineering, Software Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field)
- 7+ years of experience in system integration and test, including SIL, HIL, simulation, and flight test environments
- Demonstrated experience leading test execution, including authority over test conduct, readiness, and risk decisions
- Strong background working cross-functionally with systems engineering, software, hardware, safety, and program management teams
- Highly organized and methodical, with the ability to manage complex, fast-paced test campaigns
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, including briefing technical status to leadership and customers
- Demonstrated integrity, accountability, and commitment to high standards while fostering a collaborative, respectful team environment
Preferred qualifications:
- Working knowledge of DoD DT&E and OT&E processes and documentation expectations
- Direct experience with small UAS, autonomy, or robotic flight test operations
- Prior role as Test Director, Test Conductor, or Lead Flight Test Engineer
- Experience operating within DoD software and hardware laboratories or government flight test ranges
- Familiarity with safety-of-flight processes, hazard analysis, and configuration control in flight test environments
Full-time regular employee offer package:
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Find Senior Staff Engineer JobsSenior Staff Engineer Job Market in San Diego
Who's Hiring
- Qualcomm97
- Shield AI97
- Marvell Technology88
- Northrop Grumman44
- Dexcom35
Top Industries Hiring
- Technology & Software88
- Telecommunications71
- Electronics & Hardware71
- Medical Devices35
- Aerospace & Defense18
Senior Staff Engineer Jobs in San Diego: Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get a senior staff engineer job in San Diego?
Focus your search on San Diego's defense and aerospace contractors clustered around Miramar and Kearny Mesa, the biotech and life sciences firms concentrated in Torrey Pines and Sorrento Valley, and the software and cloud infrastructure companies based downtown and in Carmel Valley. Candidates who combine deep systems or platform engineering experience with cross-functional leadership stand out most in this market, as San Diego employers consistently prioritize engineers who can own architecture decisions end-to-end.
Which companies hire senior staff engineers in San Diego?
Employers hiring senior staff engineers in San Diego right now include Qualcomm, Shield AI, and Marvell Technology, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of August 2026. San Diego's hiring mix leans heavily toward defense contractors, biotech and medical device firms, and high-growth software companies, giving senior staff engineers a wide range of industry contexts to choose from.
Are there remote senior staff engineer jobs in San Diego?
Yes, though availability depends heavily on the discipline, since senior staff engineers in hardware, lab, or defense-adjacent roles are almost always required on site, while those in cloud infrastructure, platform engineering, and software architecture work remotely far more often. About 5% of senior staff engineer openings tied to San Diego are remote or hybrid as of August 2026, with most flexibility concentrated in pure software and data platform roles. Defense and biotech positions in San Diego typically require full on-site presence.
How can I get a senior staff engineer job in San Diego with little or no experience?
The most realistic entry path in San Diego is building foundational engineering depth through mid-level roles at the city's many defense primes, biotech firms, or software companies before stepping into staff-level scope. San Diego's large contractor ecosystem, including firms around Kearny Mesa and Miramar, frequently hire engineers at the senior level who then grow into staff responsibilities internally, making those employers a strong target for candidates building toward the role. Demonstrating ownership of a system or architectural decision, even at smaller San Diego startups in Carmel Valley or Little Italy, can accelerate that trajectory significantly.
Which industries hire the most senior staff engineers in San Diego?
The sectors hiring the most senior staff engineers in San Diego are Technology & Software, Telecommunications, and Electronics & Hardware, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of August 2026. San Diego's combination of a large naval and defense presence, a world-class biotech corridor in Torrey Pines, and a growing software infrastructure scene makes it one of the more diversified markets for senior engineering talent on the West Coast.
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