Technology company Wolt and Irish drone company Manna are launching a drone delivery pilot in Espoo. The pilot will begin in January in Niittykumpu, Espoo. The aim is to test the functionality and practicality of drone deliveries, especially in cold and challenging winter conditions.
“We are excited to pilot drone deliveries together with our partner Manna. Finland’s diverse winters provide an excellent testing environment to demonstrate that drones can be a reliable solution here in the north. During the pilot, our goal is to assess the functionality of drones and create the conditions for expanding this new mode of transportation,” says Antti Kosonen, Wolt’s Director of Product Development.
Manna has extensive experience in drone deliveries, and the company has completed successful deliveries to over 150,000 households in Ireland and the United States.
“It’s great to be working with Wolt and bringing our technology to Finland. Together with Wolt, we can offer customers an unprecedented experience where grocery shopping is delivered faster than ever before. At the same time, drone deliveries can reduce traffic congestion,” says Bobby Healy, Manna’s founder and CEO.
“We are happy to be working with our Finnish partners. Finland is a natural choice – a country where there is a strong focus on innovation and improving infrastructure.”
Manna has full certification from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and operates in accordance with strict aviation safety standards. In its operations, Manna emphasizes safety, sustainability and efficiency in particular. Drone deliveries reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 85% compared to traditional vehicle deliveries. By reducing traffic congestion and traffic-related risks, Manna promotes safer streets and provides faster and more environmentally friendly deliveries.
As the pilot begins, the drones are in test use and are not yet used for commercial purposes.
Facts about drones:
- The drone flies at an altitude of about 60-70 meters at a maximum speed of 80 kilometers per hour.
- When arriving at the customer’s location, the drone descends to 15 meters and lowers the order with a rope.
- Initially, drones are only tested in Niittykumpu and its surrounding areas.
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Manna is seeking an experienced and dynamic Flight-Testing Program Manager to join our rapidly growing team and take on the responsibility for leading and developing the Flight-Testing Program into our next phase of growth. The Flight Test Program will cover both the performance, reliability and safety of our current platforms, as well as the development and certification of our new platforms. In this dual role you will be expected to support our current flight operations, as well as supporting the EASA Design Verification process and development of new aircraft.
Our Flight Testing facility is located in Moorock, Co Offaly with ~1000 acres of space at our disposal. The successful candidate will ideally need to be on-site 1-2 days per week
ABOUT MANNA
At Manna, our mission is to improve the world by making high-speed suburban deliveries affordable, green, and safe. We design and build our own aviation-grade drones to deliver food and other items directly from restaurants, centralized kitchens, and local stores to consumers’ homes. With a widely dispersed workforce across many sites, you will be joining a company with a great culture for collaboration, lots of learning and even more fun!
THE JOB IN 2 BULLETS
- Responsibility for the safe, innovative and efficient execution of the Flight Testing Program to maximise the safety and performance of our current and future platforms.
- Hire, support and grow our Flight Testing team to ensure they are capable of executing against the goals and objectives of the Program.
PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES
- Define the objectives and strategies of the Flight Test Program in alignment with the goals and objectives of Manna as a whole.
- Lead and managing the FTP from concept to completion, including developing test plans, coordinating testing activities, and analysing data to support product development and certification
- Collaborate with engineering and design teams to identify and prioritize test requirements, and developing appropriate flight test plans to validate design assumptions and performance criteria.
- Facilitate both Test Execution & Debriefing along with the appropriate dissemination of test results.
- Facilitate Test Readiness and Test Safety Reviews.
- Being accountable for the execution of the entire Flight Test Program lifecycle, ensuring that all flight testing is safe and compliant with Manna’s legal and regulatory requirements.
- Build and maintaining relationships and interactions between the FTP and different departments across Manna.
- Provide oversight and reporting on the progress, blockers and future plans of the Testing program.
- Mentor and managing the development and performance of FTP employees.
- Develop and improving the aircraft performance metrics in line with the documented aircraft requirements.
- Identify and implementing process improvements to increase efficiency and effectiveness of flight test programs
- Support the Design Organisation with collecting and developing test requests, and integrating them into a flight test plan.
- Manage the snags recording system, assigning severity and deadlines for fixes in accordance with the test plan.
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE
- 3-5 years of experience working in Flight Testing or similar
- BSc in Aerospace, Mechanical, Electric Engineering or comparable degree
- Proven experience in people management and project management
- Excellent communication and problem solving skills
DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE
- A strong understanding of safety and compliance standards in the Aerospace/UAS domain.
- Experience/Understanding of Easy Access Rules for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (Regulations (EU) 2019/947 and 2019/945)
- 8+ years of experience within Aerospace/UAS
- Experience with data analysis and statistical analysis techniques
RELOCATION:
This position offers relocation based on candidate eligibility
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