UAV System Engineer

Location: Sector-132, Noida, (involves travelling with the team to various test sites across India)

Salary (CTC): ₹4 – 6 LPA

Job Type: Full-time, On-site

About Zoid- ZOID is a deep-tech R&D startup developing advanced defence and aerospace technologies for the Indian Military and UAV manufacturers. Our work spans AI, electronics, robotics, autonomous systems and UAV platforms. Our current projects include AI-based FOD detection for naval air stations, GNSS-denied navigation, aerial intelligent mapping, reusable off-board missile decoys, vision-based kinetic strike systems and drone swarming solutions.

Role Overview- We are looking for a hands-on

UAV Systems Engineer cum Certified Drone Pilot to support the end-to-end design, integration, testing, flight operations and deployment of UAV systems. The role requires strong practical knowledge of drone hardware, avionics, flight controllers, power systems, communication links, payload integration and field testing. The candidate must be comfortable manually flying small to medium-category UAVs and travelling to test locations across India.

Key Responsibilities- Research & Documentation

• Research across Avionics, RF electronics, power electronics, networking, cables/connectors, embedded electronics, test & measurement equipment, sensor/payload electronics, GNSS, and PCB assembly/prototyping vendors.
• Read research papers and understand the concepts.
• Prepare technical design documents — project plans, timelines, integration workflows, system requirements and operations manuals.
• Stay updated on industry advancements, new tools and technologies.
• Familiarity with PWM/PPM, NMEA, RTCM, Wi-Fi and 4G/5G links.

UAV Systems & Integration

• Lead, design and assemble end-to-end integration of UAV subsystems: propulsion, avionics, control, payload and power.
• Hands-on with various frame designs — Quad/Hex/Octa copters,

fixed-wing, VTOL , etc.

• Select suitable drives, electronic components, sensors and hardware.
• Knowledge of motors, ESCs, propellers — their specs and configuration.
• Configure, integrate, calibrate and auto-tune flight controllers (Pixhawk, Cube Orange+, PX4, etc.).
• Analyse flight logs using Mission Planner, QGroundControl or MAVLink tools for pre- and post-flight debugging.
• Knowledge of standard flight modes (stabilize, althold, poshold, loiter, land, rtl, guided, auto), fail-safes (RC, GCS, battery, geofence, EKF) and mission planning.
• Familiar with standard Pixhawk Cube parameters and setting them via Mission Planner.

Communication & Networking

• Ability to configure IP networks — IP addressing, subnet masks, gateways, routing — and get companion computers, flight controllers, payload processors, routers and ground stations talking on the same network.
• Knowledge of serial communication protocols: UART, SPI, I²C, CAN, RS-232, including baud rates and debugging.
• Understanding of telemetry radios, RC links, video links, mesh networks, Ethernet, LTE/5G modems, VPN/routing and IP-based payload communication.
• Understanding of MAVLink routing, UDP/TCP endpoints, packet loss, latency and link redundancy.

Basic RF knowledge — understanding of what a signal is and the fundamentals behind it.

Power System Design

• Understanding of Li-ion/LiPo packs, C-rating, discharge curves, BMS, cell balancing and safe charging/discharging.
• Ability to calculate power Budget, current draw, endurance, payload power and voltage rail requirements.
• Knowledge of PDBs, DC-DC converters, BECs, fuses, connectors, wire gauge selection and grounding.
• Troubleshoot brownouts, voltage drops, ESC desync, power noise and overheating.

Sensor & Payload Integration Integrate EO/IR cameras, gimbals, LiDAR, rangefinders, GNSS/RTK modules, IMUs, magnetometers, payload controllers and RF payloads.

• Read sensor datasheets and understand interfaces, power needs, mounting constraints and calibration.
• Test payload data flow from sensor → onboard computer → ground station.
• Ability to read datasheets, schematics, pinouts and reference manuals to bring up and test embedded boards.

Software & Development

• Python skills are mandatory for development, log analysis / visualization, automation and tooling.

C++ is a big plus.

• Working knowledge of Ubuntu / Linux is required , including basic commands (SSH, SCP, mkdir, cd, rm, etc.) and day-to-day use of a Linux environment.
• Basic

firmware development, flashing, debugging and peripheral interfacing on microcontrollers such as

STM32 , ESP32, Arduino or similar.

Qualifications Education: Diploma or degree in Electronics, Mechanical, Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical or a related field. Equivalent experience also considered.

Experience:

• Minimum 3 years in a UAV Systems Engineer / Drone Engineer role, preferably in a startup, R&D or defence-tech setup.
• Prior experience in defence/aerospace product testing and deployment.
• Experience building and operating drones from scratch and running day-to-day autonomous/semi-autonomous flights.

Hands-on skills:

• Soldering (board-level), crimping, wiring, harness building and assembly.
• Integrating flight controllers with ESCs, GPS, power modules, telemetry, RF systems and onboard computers.
• Familiarity with aviation regulations and military standards for UAV development is a plus.

Core Skills-

• Proficiency in MS Office, Canva, AI Tool like Claude.
• Strong problem-solving — able to think critically and creatively about complex engineering challenges.
• Good communication skills for working with cross-functional teams.
• Proficiency in English is mandatory.

Additional Requirements

• Willingness to travel to test sites across India.
• Ability to manually fly small to medium category drones (mandatory).
• Comfortable working outdoors for extended durations. Preferred Skills Beyond the requirements above, any of the following is a big plus:
• Advanced software experience with

C++, ROS and Gazebo .

• Familiarity with embedded processors beyond standard computers — microcontrollers,

SBCs, SoCs and FPGA-based development boards.

• Basic familiarity with FPGA / SoC-FPGA workflows: HDL, synthesis, bitstream generation, programming and hardware validation using tools like Vivado/Vitis or similar.
• Awareness of different RF architectures, with the judgement to do design and analysis of the subsystems in an RF chain.
• Understanding of antenna theory, types of signals, jamming signals and SDRs .