Drone Electrical & Systems Engineer

Rownd, Inc.; Town of Hartford, Northern (WI, KY); Hybrid; USD 85,000 - 125,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Meaningful equity

Paid travel for tests

Job summary

Rownd, Inc. seeks a hands-on electrical engineer to own the avionics stack and wiring harness design for 100% autonomous drones. You will collaborate with external partners, draft wiring diagrams, and source harness production for in-house assembly and field testing.

Four days per week are in person in the Greater Hartford, WI area with active flight testing from Hartford Airport. U.S. citizenship and clearance readiness are required as you travel 5-8 weeks annually for trials.

Qualifications

• Hands-on electrical engineering role focusing on full drone hardware.
• Ability to draft wiring diagrams and manage outsourced harness production.
• Willingness to train on airfield operations and learn in real flight scenarios.

Responsibilities

• Own the avionics stack from diagram to flight.
• Specify and review carrier-board designs with external partners.
• Create wiring diagrams, schematics, and coordinate harness production.
• Integrate flight controllers, ESCs, motors, power, RF links, GNSS, and BMS.
• Perform field testing and diagnose power/signal issues with test equipment.
• Apply AI tools to accelerate software and diagnostics.

Skills

Electronics

Power distribution

Wiring harnesses

Python

C++

AI tooling

Tools

Multimeters

Oscilloscopes

Logic analyzers

CAN

UART

I2C

SPI

Job description

Own the electrical systems that make Rownd's autonomous drones fly: carrier boards, wiring architecture, avionics, power, pre-flight automation, field repair, and weekly runway testing.

This role is available only in the Greater Richfield / Slinger / Hartford, Wisconsin area.

Four days per week are in person, with active flight testing from Hartford Airport on most of those days. Research Triangle Park is not an option for this position.

Position type Full-time, on-site / hybrid

Compensation $85,000 - $125,000 DOE + meaningful equity

Location Greater Richfield / Slinger / Hartford, Wisconsin area; RTP is not an option for this role

Worksite Four days per week in office, with active flight testing from Hartford Airport on most of those days

Travel 5-8 weeks per year for domestic trials and international military exercises; no active warzones

About Rownd

Build the full drone, then prove it in the field.

Rownd is a fast-paced, high-execution technology and hardware startup building 100% autonomous physical assets for defense and commercial use. We do not stop at software or integrate only off-the-shelf parts; we build the full drone from the ground up.

This is a broad, hands-on electrical engineering role. You will collaborate with external board partners, draft complete wiring diagrams, source harness manufacturing, assemble and repair systems, automate diagnostics, and fly the resulting hardware every week.

Prior drone-flight experience is not required. We will train you on the airfield. What matters is that you find real autonomous hardware, real electrical tradeoffs, and seeing your designs take flight genuinely exciting.

Systems architecture

Own the avionics stack from diagram to flight.

Carrier boards and architecture

Specify, review, and guide custom carrier-board designs with external hardware partners. Review schematics, select connectors and pinouts, and validate incoming revisions.

Wiring and harness production

Create complete wiring diagrams, schematics, and cable pinout documentation, then source and coordinate outsourced wire-harness production runs.

Avionics and power integration

Integrate flight controllers, ESCs, BLDC motors, gas or hybrid engines, RF links, GNSS, and battery-management systems across Type 1-3 UAS platforms.

EMI mitigation and field repair

Fabricate and repair harnesses through crimping, soldering, potting, and heat-shrinking while eliminating interference between motor drivers and sensitive RF/GPS payloads.

Hands-on R&D and logistics

Use multimeters, oscilloscopes, and logic analyzers to diagnose power drops, signal integrity, and CAN, UART, I2C, or SPI faults.

Maintain the physical lifecycle and field readiness of Rownd's R&D hardware.

AI automation and flight operations

Use agentic AI tools such as Cursor, Claude, ChatGPT, and LLM coding assistants to accelerate software and diagnostics.

Write Python and C++ utilities that automate pre-flight checklists, sensor calibration verification, battery health checks, telemetry review, and log analysis.

Conduct active flight-line testing from Hartford Airport on most in-office days and troubleshoot live hardware issues on the runway.

Assist with PX4 and ArduPilot tuning, sensor-feed validation, client demonstrations, field trials, and multinational military training exercises.

A versatile electrical builder who wants to fly.

Hands-on experience with electronics, power distribution, wiring harnesses, motors, ESCs, or engines.

Demonstrated ability to draft system wiring diagrams and manage outsourced custom wire-harness manufacturing.

Comfort reviewing schematics and layouts while collaborating with external PCB design partners.

Pristine soldering, SMD rework, harness fabrication, crimping, and bench-testing skills; aerospace or mechanical experience is a strong plus.

Strong interest or experience using agentic AI to rapidly write Python or C++ automation and diagnostic tools.

No prior drone-piloting experience is required, but you should be excited to learn and fly hardware in the real world.

Must live in or relocate to the Greater Richfield / Slinger / Hartford, Wisconsin area and attend four days per week in person.

U.S. citizen eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. Security Clearance.

Able to travel 5-8 weeks per year for domestic and international field exercises outside active warzones.

Culture, trust, and expectations

High trust, exceptionally high expectations.

Figure it out

You will not receive a finished wiring diagram or perfect bill of materials. Select robust components, solve noise and power issues, and make the electronics work flawlessly in the air.

Startups are fast and chaotic. Extreme ambiguity, rapid pivots, and fast-moving technical changes should push you to adapt and build.

Positive and collaborative

We are a tight-knit team. We look for people who are additive, collaborative, positive, and genuinely great to work with. No brilliant jerks.

Hard work and real rest

We work intensely when we are on, and we fiercely protect real time off so people can unplug and recharge.

Mission alignment

Rownd builds directly for the U.S. military and its allies. Every teammate must fully support that mission and feel comfortable building systems that protect service members.

Hiring process

Direct, transparent, and practical.

What's in it for you

End-to-end ownership, from bench to runway.

Build credentials by deploying tactical UAS platforms at domestic and international military exercises.

Receive fully paid U.S. and global field travel for client tests, trials, and exercises.

Earn $85,000 - $125,000 DOE plus meaningful equity and direct ownership in Rownd's growth.

Full-time Greater Hartford, WI area 5-8 weeks annual travel U.S. citizenship required