Senior Software QA Engineer, Aviation

Who is Flock?

Every community deserves to be safe, it’s a fundamental right. Our mission is simple - to build technology that reduces crime and protects privacy. Flock partners with cities, businesses, schools, and neighborhoods to help protect where people live, work, and play. Last year, Flock technology supported over 1 million criminal investigations. We've also helped solve approximately 20% of reported crimes in areas where we're deployed, and have played a role in locating more than 10,000 missing people.

We are a high-performance team united by urgency, ownership, and a shared commitment to meaningful impact. The work is fast-paced and the expectations are high. We push beyond perceived limits, support each other, and hold ourselves accountable to delivering results that matter.

With over $1B in funding and an $8.3B valuation, we are scaling with intention and investing in the people who will help us build what others said could not be done. At Flock, you will find the opportunity to grow quickly, take on real responsibility, and contribute to something bigger than yourself.

The Opportunity

We are looking for a Senior Software QA Engineer to drive the quality, safety, and scale of our Drone as a First Responder (DFR) systems.

In this role, you won't just be testing software interfaces; you will be responsible for the ultimate reliability of our integrated mechatronic systems. You will sit directly at the intersection of physical hardware and cloud-connected software—ensuring our drones, docks, and radar accessories operate flawlessly when a first responder's split-second decision depends on them. If you are energized by high-stakes environments, love digging into raw Linux logs via CLI, and want to see your code directly translate to safer communities, you belong here.

The Skillset

Must-haves:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field

• 8+ years of QA, test, or systems engineering experience working on complex safety-critical mechatronic systems (e.g., robotics, autonomous vehicles, UAVs, or aerospace).

• Demonstrated experience authoring detailed test cases, structuring test plans, and utilizing test case management platforms (such as Qase) to track execution metrics.

• Technical understanding of serial communications (e.g., CAN, UART), computer vision, edge computing, and live data streaming.

• Strong proficiency in Python, Bash, or similar scripting languages to build custom test scripts and modify test automation frameworks.

• Mastery of Linux systems, log-level debugging, and using CLI tools to diagnose issues spanning across physical sensors, embedded microcontrollers, and cloud backends.

• Proven ability to lead cross-functional initiatives, challenge architectural designs constructively with data, and navigate ambiguous, multi-disciplinary engineering problems.

Nice-to-haves:

• Experience in drone or aviation systems and/or FAA Part 107 certification.

• Hands-on experience with AWS and cloud technologies, including visualization and backend database tools (e.g., Grafana, Sigma, Tableau)

• Experience with simulation tools such as Gazebo.

• Familiarity with aviation safety standards, DO-178C, ISO 26262, or ASTM standards related to autonomous drone operations and DFR infrastructure.

• Familiarity with video streaming protocols (RTSP, WebRTC) and cellular data link performance optimization (LTE/5G) under varying environmental conditions.

• Familiarity with cloud-based web applications.

90 Days at Flock

We prescribe 90 day plans and believe that good days lead to good weeks, which lead to good months. This serves as a preview of the 90 day plan you will receive if you were to be hired in this role at Flock.

The First 30 Days

• You will perform an in-person evaluation of our existing drone and dock systems in Atlanta. You’ll remotely control the aircraft, map out existing manual and automated test suites in Qase, and fully wrap your head around the DFR operational context and failure modes

The First 60 Days

• You’ll take ownership of authoring and executing test plans for active software builds. You will dive deep into our diagnostic tools, utilize software control points and logging hooks to isolate elusive hardware/software bugs, and attend a real-world customer deployment.

90 Days & Beyond

• You will execute the overarching QA validation strategy and HIL/SIL automated test suites for our next-generation Alpha Drone, Alpha Dock, and Dock 3 systems. You will establish automated pipelines that feed test results directly back to Qase and set the formal testing gates that govern our fleet rollouts.

Salary & Equity

In this role, you’ll receive a starting salary between $150,000 and $185,000 as well as Flock Stock Options. Base salary is determined by job-related experience, education/training, as well as market indicators. Your recruiter will discuss this in-depth with you during our first chat.

Location

This role will require the candidate be based in the Atlanta metro area. Because you are testing physical, safety-critical aerospace hardware, this is a highly collaborative, hands-on role. You will split your in-office/lab time between our Mableton testing facility and test flight field to work directly with the drones, docks, and engineering teams.

The Perks

🌴Flexible PTO: We offer non-accrual PTO, plus 11 company holidays.

⚕️Fully-paid health benefits plan for employees: including Medical, Dental, and Vision and an HSA match.

👪Family Leave: All employees receive 12 weeks of 100% paid parental leave. Birthing parents are eligible for an additional 6-8 weeks of physical recovery time.

🍼Fertility & Family Benefits: We have partnered with Maven, a complete digital health benefit for starting and raising a family. Flock will provide a $50,000-lifetime maximum benefit related to eligible adoption, surrogacy, or fertility expenses.

🧠Spring Health: Spring Health offers a variety of mental health benefits, including therapy, coaching, medication management, and digital tools, all tailored to each individual's needs.

💖Caregiver Support: We have partnered with Cariloop to provide our employees with caregiver support

💸Carta Tax Advisor: Employees receive 1:1 sessions with Equity Tax Advisors who can address individual grants, model tax scenarios, and answer general questions.

💚ERGs: We want all employees to thrive and feel like they belong at Flock. We offer four ERGs today - Women of Flock, Flock Proud, LEOs and Melanin Motion. If you are interested in talking to a representative from one of these, please let your recruiter know.

💻WFH Stipend: $150 per month to cover the costs of working from home.

📚Productivity Stipend: $300 per year to use on Audible, Calm, Masterclass, Duolingo and so much more.

🏠Home Office Stipend: A one-time $750 to help you create your dream office.

If an offer is extended and accepted, this position requires the ability to obtain and maintain Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) certification as a condition of employment. Applicants must meet all FBI CJIS Security Policy requirements, including a fingerprint-based background check.

Feeling uneasy that you haven’t ticked every box? That’s okay; we’ve felt that way too. Studies have shown women and minorities are less likely to apply unless they meet all qualifications. We encourage you to break the status quo and apply to roles that would make you excited to come to work every day.

Flock is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diverse backgrounds and thoughts and welcome everyone to apply for employment with us. We are committed to fostering an environment that is inclusive, transparent, and collaborative. Mutual respect is central to how Flock operates, and we believe the best solutions come from diverse perspectives, experiences, and skills. We embrace our differences and know that we are stronger working together.

If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please email us at [email protected]. This information will be treated as confidential and used only to determine an appropriate accommodation for the interview process.

At Flock, we compensate our employees fairly for their work. Base salary is determined by job-related experience, education/training, as well as market indicators. The range above is representative of base salary only and does not include equity, sales bonus plans (when applicable) and benefits. This range may be modified in the future. This job posting may span more than one career level.

Flock is aware of fraudulent individuals and agencies falsely claiming to represent our company. All legitimate communication from Flock will come from an email address ending in @flocksafety.com. We do not make job offers through messaging apps, social platforms, or unauthorized third parties, and we will never request payment or sensitive personal information during the hiring process. If you encounter suspicious outreach related to a Flock role, please report it to [email protected]