Principal Forward Deployed Autonomous Systems Engineer

Description

The company is a defense technology firm founded in 2023 that builds autonomous defense platforms. It has about 350 employees and is growing quickly, with a startup pace and ambition.

The company designs scalable, decentralized defense systems for the United States and its allies, including lethal systems meant to deter kinetic conflict.

This is a hands-on technical leadership role focused on getting autonomous systems fielded, run, and improved in harsh real-world conditions. It is not mainly a pilot job. It calls for sound technical judgment, credibility in field operations, decisive leadership, and an ability to link engineering choices to how deployments turn out.

Responsibilities

• Set operating standards for autonomous vehicles and the systems that support them.
• Judge whether vehicles, people, equipment, procedures, and deployment packages are ready to operate.
• Own readiness for an assigned vehicle family, which may include stratospheric or high-performance autonomous platforms.
• Lead Flight Operations work with military customers, government sponsors, test ranges, and other outside parties.
• Advise company leadership on deployment readiness, technical risk, staffing needs, and operating limits.
• Turn feedback from tests, deployments, operators, and customers into clear engineering priorities.
• Work with engineering and program teams to move prototypes into products that are reliable, repeatable, and supportable.
• Develop operational concepts of employment, deployment models, and field support strategies.
• Own internal training programs and customer-facing training materials, and develop instructors so training is delivered consistently.
• Lead the creation and sign-off of operating procedures, checklists, maintenance practices, and readiness criteria.
• Provide technical leadership during flight tests, demonstrations, deployments, and hard troubleshooting.
• Diagnose problems that span mechanical systems, avionics, communications, networking, flight controls, payloads, and ground systems.
• Lead or support international operations and foreign military engagements.
• Manage, mentor, and develop Forward Deployed Autonomous Systems Engineers, and set expectations for technical skill, discipline, documentation, and field performance.
• Work across Flight Operations, Engineering, Flight Test, Manufacturing, Logistics, Programs, and Business Development.
• Support mission planning, flight-readiness reviews, test execution, and post-mission analysis as needed.
• Make sure lessons from field work are captured, shared, and built into products and procedures.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in robotics, aerospace, electrical, mechanical, computer science, or another relevant STEM field, or equivalent hands-on technical experience.
• Extensive experience operating, integrating, testing, or fielding unmanned aircraft, autonomous systems, robotics, or similar complex electromechanical systems.
• Proven experience leading technical field operations, deployments, flight-test work, or customer demonstrations.
• Solid understanding of full system architectures and how subsystems interact.
• Strong troubleshooting across several disciplines, including mechanical, avionics, radio-frequency, networking, flight controls, and software.
• Experience judging operational readiness and making risk-based go/no-go recommendations.
• Experience writing technical procedures, checklists, operating standards, training materials, or maintenance practices.
• Experience training technical staff and developing other instructors.
• Track record of turning operational findings into product or engineering changes.
• Experience working directly with customers, government sponsors, military units, or test ranges.
• Clear technical writing and communication skills.
• Ability to lead, mentor, and hold technical staff accountable.
• Ability to explain technical risk clearly to engineers, customers, and company leadership.
• Willingness to travel often and lead multi-day domestic and international deployments.
• Ability to work effectively in austere field conditions and during high-tempo test campaigns.
• Ability to meet any security, export-control, or customer access requirements tied to the role.
• Preferred: Experience moving an autonomous system from prototype into a repeatable operational product.
• Preferred: Experience writing operational concepts of employment for unmanned or autonomous systems.
• Preferred: Experience supporting international military operations, foreign military demonstrations, or partner-nation training.
• Preferred: Experience owning operational readiness for a vehicle program or product family.
• Preferred: Experience managing or formally leading a team of field engineers, operators, or technicians.
• Preferred: Experience with stratospheric, long-endurance, high-speed, or other high-performance autonomous vehicles.
• Preferred: Advanced experience with PX4, ArduPilot, QGroundControl, Mission Planner, or similar flight-control ecosystems.
• Preferred: Experience analyzing system logs and leading structured root-cause investigations.
• Preferred: Experience with Linux, Git, Python, C++, Rust, Bash, or other relevant engineering tools.
• Preferred: Experience with tactical radios, MIMO or mesh networks, companion computers, embedded systems, sensors, or specialized test equipment.
• Preferred: Experience writing customer-facing technical documentation and training curricula.
• Preferred: Experience advising senior leadership on operational readiness, deployment risk, and program priorities.
• Preferred: FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate.
• Preferred: Active or previously held U.S. security clearance.

Conditions

Title level: Principal Engineer.

Base salary range is $180,000 - $210,000 USD. This is an estimate, and actual offers may differ based on experience, education, training, critical skills, and business needs.

Available to work extended hours and weekends when needed.

The role may involve access to information controlled under U.S. export laws, including the EAR and ITAR. Any offer may depend on authorization to receive controlled software or technology without sponsorship for an export license.

Under U.S. Government export rules, applicants must be a U.S. citizen or national, a U.S. lawful permanent resident, a refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or an asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the needed authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Benefits

• Equity: stock options or equity are offered, and highly competitive equity grants are included in most offers.
• Performance bonus tied to both individual and company results.
• Health, dental, and vision coverage.
• Retirement savings plan.
• Paid time off.
• Funding for continuing education, training, and career growth.
• Pay reviewed against market rates for the industry and location.