Hardware Systems Lead, Drone

• Own the end-to-end hardware architecture, mechanical and electrical, for Applied Intuition's drone platforms

• Be hands-on: prototype, build, integrate, debug, and test hardware on real aircraft, not just review designs

• Define and drive survivability: determine how sensors, compute, avionics, harnesses, connectors, and enclosures will hold up to vibration, shock, hard landings, thermal extremes, dust, water ingress, and EMI

• Lead integration of sensors (cameras, lidar, radar, GNSS/IMU), compute, power systems, communications, and flight controllers onto airframes

• Own size, weight, and power (SWaP) tradeoffs, balancing performance, flight time, payload capacity, and cost

• Define hardware requirements and reference architectures that scale across aircraft configurations

• Plan and run environmental, durability, and flight testing, analyze failures and crashes, and drive root cause and design fixes

• Be the technical authority and escalation point for hardware tradeoffs across mechanical, electrical, avionics, software, autonomy, and flight test

• Lead hardware design reviews, set engineering standards, and mentor other engineers

• Support flight test campaigns, demonstrations, and field operations

• BS/MS in Aerospace, Mechanical, Electrical, Mechatronics, or a related field

• 10+ years of hands-on hardware engineering experience on drones, UAS, or other aircraft

• Strong command of the whole hardware system: airframe and structures, electrical architecture, power distribution, harness design, avionics, and how they interact

• A track record of designing hardware to survive demanding environments, with real experience in vibration, shock, ingress protection, thermal management, and EMI/EMC

• Hands-on experience in the lab and in the field: building prototypes, wiring and debugging systems, running flight tests, and diagnosing failures and crashes

• Experience integrating sensors such as cameras, lidar, radar, and GNSS/IMU, along with compute and flight control hardware, onto airborne platforms

• Experience with SWaP optimization and lightweight design, including composites and carbon fiber

• Experience with reliability and qualification testing (environmental testing, HALT, flight-hour tracking)

• Systems-level thinking and the ability to make architecture decisions and defend them

• Experience designing for manufacturability and field serviceability

• Experience with fixed-wing, multirotor, or VTOL platforms

• Familiarity with aerospace standards such as DO-160 or MIL-STD-810 and MIL-STD-461

• Experience with propulsion, battery, or power system integration

Don't meet every single requirement? If you're excited about this role but your past experience doesn't align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles. Applied Intuition is an equal opportunity employer and federal contractor or subcontractor. Consequently, the parties agree that, as applicable, they will abide by the requirements of 41 CFR 60-1.4(a), 41 CFR 60-300.5(a) and 41 CFR 60-741.5(a) and that these laws are incorporated herein by reference. These regulations prohibit discrimination against qualified individuals based on their status as protected veterans or individuals with disabilities, and prohibit discrimination against all individuals based on their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or national origin. These regulations require that covered prime contractors and subcontractors take affirmative action to employ and advance in employment individuals without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status or disability. The parties also agree that, as applicable, they will abide by the requirements of Executive Order 13496 (29 CFR Part 471, Appendix A to Subpart A), relating to the notice of employee rights under federal labor laws.