Drone Engineer

Orionplacement; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 100,000 - 125,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Medical coverage for employees and/or家

Dental and vision benefits

Generous PTO

12 weeks parental leave

Holidays

Job summary

Confidential Employer in Austin, TX seeks a hands-on drone engineer to build, integrate, and test a mixed fleet of fixed-wing and multirotor drones. You will troubleshoot flight controllers, electronics, and mechanical systems, and support flight testing with the engineering team. Requirements include 2+ years of drone experience, experience with ArduPilot or Betaflight, and U.S.

citizenship. This on-site role involves travel for testing and demonstrations and offers substantial growth and

Qualifications

• 2+ years of hands-on drone engineering, UAV integration, maintenance, or related technical experience.
• Proficient with both fixed-wing and multirotor drones.
• Experience using ArduPilot or Betaflight.
• Willingness to work on-site in Austin, TX and travel as needed.
• U.S. citizenship required.

Responsibilities

• Build, maintain, troubleshoot, and test a diverse fleet of drones, fixed-wing and multirotor.
• Integrate autonomy software onto UAV platforms and support flight testing.
• Diagnose and resolve flight controller, electrical, mechanical, and hardware integration issues.
• Configure, tune, and troubleshoot flight controllers (ArduPilot or Betaflight).
• Collaborate with engineers to evaluate new drone platforms and improve performance.
• Support hardware modifications, electronics integration, and system upgrades.
• Conduct hands-on testing to ensure safety and deployability.
• Document issues, maintenance, configurations, and test results.
• Contribute to growth of drone engineering capabilities.

Skills

Hands-on drone engineering

Troubleshooting

On-site work

U.S. citizenship

Education

Engineering degree preferred

Tools

ArduPilot

Betaflight

Job description

Pay: $100,000.00 - $125,000.00 per year

Why This Is a Great Opportunity

• Work hands-on with an exciting variety of fixed-wing, multirotor, and advanced unmanned aircraft systems.
• Become one of our first dedicated drone engineering specialists, with the opportunity to shape and potentially lead a growing drone development team.
• Help bring cutting-edge artificial intelligence and autonomous flight technology to real-world applications.
• Take ownership of building, troubleshooting, maintaining, and integrating drones across multiple platforms.
• Collaborate with talented engineers on challenging technical projects involving flight controllers, electronics, software integration, and flight testing.
• Enjoy company equity, comprehensive healthcare benefits, generous paid time off, and significant career growth potential.

Location:

Austin, TX. This is a full-time, on-site opportunity for someone who enjoys hands-on engineering, testing, and working directly with drone hardware. Candidates open to relocating to Austin are welcome to apply. Travel is required for testing, demonstrations, and other project needs.

Note:

Candidates must have 2+ years of hands-on drone engineering, integration, or maintenance experience, including experience working with both fixed-wing and multirotor drones. Direct experience with ArduPilot or Betaflight is required. U.S. citizenship is required.

About Us

We are a growing defense technology company developing advanced artificial intelligence and autonomous systems for mission-critical applications. Our engineers combine technical creativity, hands-on problem-solving, and a passion for innovation to develop technology that makes a meaningful impact. We value curious builders, practical problem-solvers, and people who love turning ambitious ideas into working systems. Confidential Employer.

Job Description

• Build, maintain, troubleshoot, and test a diverse fleet of fixed-wing and multirotor drones.
• Integrate advanced autonomy software onto different UAV platforms and support flight testing.
• Diagnose and resolve flight controller, electrical, mechanical, and hardware integration issues.
• Configure, tune, and troubleshoot flight controllers using ArduPilot or Betaflight.
• Work with engineers to evaluate new drone platforms and improve system performance and reliability.
• Support hardware modifications, component replacements, electronics integration, and system upgrades.
• Conduct hands-on testing and help ensure drones are safe, functional, and ready for deployment.
• Document technical issues, maintenance activities, configurations, and testing results.
• Contribute to the growth and development of our drone engineering capabilities.

Qualifications

• 2+ years of hands-on drone engineering, UAV integration, maintenance, or closely related technical experience.
• Practical experience with both fixed-wing and multirotor drones.
• Direct experience using ArduPilot or Betaflight.
• Strong troubleshooting ability across flight controllers, electrical systems, and mechanical components.
• Experience building, repairing, configuring, or modifying drones.
• Comfortable working hands-on with different UAV platforms and learning new systems.
• Willingness to work on-site in Austin, TX, and travel as needed.
• U.S. citizenship required.
• Experience with PX4, VTOL systems, ELRS/CRSF radio links, CAD, 3D printing, robotics, or autonomy software is a plus.
• An engineering degree is preferred but not required for candidates with strong practical experience.

Why You Will Love Working Here

We believe the best engineers are people who love building, experimenting, and solving problems. Here, you'll have the opportunity to work with a wide range of drone technologies, collaborate closely with technical leaders, and help shape an important engineering function from the ground up. We offer a $100,000 to $125,000 annual base salary, company equity, full medical coverage for employees and their families, dental and vision benefits, generous flexible PTO, all federal holidays plus the last two weeks of the year off, and 12 weeks of paid parental leave. If you're passionate about drones, enjoy solving challenging hardware and software problems, and want to help advance autonomous technology, we'd love to hear from you.

JPC-2439

Benefits:

• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance