Chief Technology Officer — Aerospace Engineering

Aska Fly; Firebaugh (CA); On-site; USD 240,000 - 420,000; Full time

Job summary

ASKA in California seeks a Chief Technology Officer for Aerospace Engineering to unite aircraft, propulsion, AI sensor fusion, digital twin, and autonomy teams into a single vehicle. You will lead engineering across aerodynamics, structures, propulsion, batteries, avionics, flight controls, autonomy, simulation, and test, owning the technical roadmap and cross-discipline decisions.

This executive role requires deep aerospace leadership, a proven record in aircraft development, and a passion for

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in aerospace or aeronautical engineering, or closely related engineering degree with aircraft design experience.
• 15+ years in aerospace engineering with leadership of multidisciplinary teams and major programs.
• Experience taking engineering work through design, prototype integration and test with responsibility for difficult decisions.
• Broad understanding of aerodynamics, structures, propulsion, controls and systems integration with deep expertise in at least one discipline.
• Ability to translate business objectives into technical plans, staffing priorities and accountable delivery.
• Knowledge of airworthiness, development assurance and configuration control with collaboration across manufacturing and flight-test.
• Ability to lead senior specialists, communicate tradeoffs clearly and foster technical rigor and practical execution.

Responsibilities

• Set the vehicle technical roadmap with company leadership, aligning priorities to architecture, milestones and resource plans.
• Oversee all engineering disciplines through their leads, maintain consistent architecture and design assumptions.
• Build and mentor engineering leaders and recruit capabilities for upcoming program phases.
• Lead architecture and major design reviews balancing performance, mass, reliability, manufacturability, cost and schedule.
• Define evidence-based readiness criteria with airworthiness and flight-test leadership and address technical risks.
• Guide autonomy software, flight controls and physical vehicle systems relationships with clear responsibility.
• Develop supplier and make-or-buy strategies and communicate progress to executives, partners and customers.
• Establish disciplined requirements and configuration control for a growing team.
• Collaborate with Program Manager on staffing, milestones and recovery plans; approve priorities and baselines.
• Improve engineering evaluation practices with discipline leads and review test coverage before major releases.

Skills

Aerospace leadership

Multidisciplinary leadership

Aircraft design

Systems integration

Strategic planning

Education

Bachelor’s degree in aerospace or aeronautical engineering

Tools

Claude Code

OpenAI Codex

Cursor

GitHub Copilot

Job description

Chief Technology Officer — Aerospace Engineering

Lead the engineering behind a world-first ambition. Bring ASKA’s aircraft, propulsion, AI sensor fusion, digital twin, and autonomy teams together to build a vehicle that unites autonomous driving and flying in support of the warfighter.

Serve as ASKA's top engineering leader, overseeing every engineering discipline and the technical development of its hybrid-electric drive-and-fly vehicle. An aerospace engineering background and substantial aircraft-development leadership are central to this role. You will direct the engineering organization across aerodynamics, structures, propulsion, batteries, avionics, flight controls, autonomy, simulation, systems integration and engineering test, with accountability for technical decisions, engineering quality and the integrated vehicle roadmap.

Employment Full-time proposed

Location & work arrangement Eagle Field and Palo Alto area · leadership presence, hands-on reviews and travel to be defined; availability for occasional testing at Eagle Field Airport required, with advance coordination

Executive leadership of all engineering: organization, technical strategy, engineering priorities and final cross-discipline technical decisions.

Key working interfaces

All engineering functions operate under the CTO's technical leadership through their discipline leads. The Program Manager coordinates schedule, resources, dependencies and milestone delivery with the CTO. Engineering leads retain ownership of their assigned technical deliverables; airworthiness and test personnel exercise their designated safety and regulatory responsibilities.

What you’ll do

• Set the vehicle technical roadmap with company leadership, connecting product priorities to architecture, engineering milestones and resource plans.
• Oversee all engineering disciplines through their leads, resolve cross-discipline technical decisions and maintain consistent vehicle architecture, interfaces and design assumptions.
• Build and mentor engineering leaders, establish clear responsibilities and recruit the capabilities needed for upcoming program phases.
• Lead architecture and major design reviews, balancing performance, mass, reliability, manufacturability, cost and schedule.
• Work with airworthiness and flight-test leadership to define evidence-based readiness criteria and resolve significant technical risks.
• Guide the relationship between autonomy software, flight controls and physical vehicle systems, preserving clear responsibility for system behavior.
• Develop supplier and make-or-buy strategies with engineering and operations, and communicate technical progress to executives, partners and customers.
• Establish disciplined requirements, configuration and engineering-change practices that remain practical for a growing development team.
• Partner with the Program Manager on staffing, milestones and recovery plans; approve engineering priorities and technical baselines while the Program Manager maintains the integrated execution plan.
• Establish and continually improve engineering evaluation practices with discipline leads: assign accountable owners, agree measurable quality and performance criteria, and review test coverage and evidence gaps before major release decisions.

Required qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in aerospace or aeronautical engineering, or a closely related engineering degree combined with substantial aircraft design and development experience.
• 15+ years in aerospace engineering, including leadership of multidisciplinary teams and a significant aircraft or aircraft-system program.
• A record of taking engineering work through design, prototype integration and test, with direct responsibility for difficult technical decisions.
• Broad understanding of aircraft aerodynamics, structures, propulsion, controls and systems integration, supported by deep expertise in at least one discipline.
• Experience translating business and program objectives into realistic technical plans, staffing priorities and accountable delivery.
• Working knowledge of aircraft airworthiness, development assurance and configuration control, with effective collaboration across manufacturing and flight-test organizations.
• Ability to lead senior specialists, communicate tradeoffs clearly and build a culture of technical rigor and practical execution.

Preferred qualifications

Experience as a CTO, chief engineer or engineering executive in a growing aircraft company. VTOL, electric or hybrid propulsion, autonomy integration and aircraft certification experience are especially relevant. A graduate degree in aerospace engineering is valuable.

AI tools and automation: Strongly preferred: hands-on experience with Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot or equivalent tools, plus experience introducing AI workflows across engineering, reviewing output and measuring delivery improvements. Provide a specific example, your contribution, any measured time saved or quality improvement, and how you verified the result. Equivalent tools are welcome.

We welcome transferable experience from related industries. You do not need to meet every preferred qualification. Tell us what you have delivered and how your skills apply to this role.

Location & working arrangements

Eagle Field Airport · 11100 W Eagle Ave, Firebaugh, CA 93622

Eagle Field Airport is our primary development and manufacturing location. Palo Alto area or remote arrangements may be considered for engineering work that does not require hands-on access. All current openings require availability to participate in development and flight-testing activities at Eagle Field Airport from time to time, with advance coordination. Flight-test roles require on-site availability for preparation and campaigns. Scheduling and travel arrangements will be discussed for each role.

About ASKA

At ASKA, we are on a mission to build the world’s first AI sensor fusion and digital twin system that manages autonomous driving and autonomous flying in one vehicle. We are bringing ground and air autonomy together to support the warfighter—moving critical supplies, reaching people in need, and reducing exposure in dangerous environments. Our team works across aircraft engineering, intelligent software, electric propulsion, and advanced manufacturing, with development and testing at Eagle Field Airport in California. Bring your expertise. Take ownership. Help build technology that matters.

ASKA welcomes applicants with diverse backgrounds and relevant experience. For questions or application accommodations, message the recruiting team .