Drone Engineer

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

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Paid time off

Retirement plan

Vision insurance

Job summary

Orion Placement is seeking a hands-on drone engineer for an on-site role in Austin, TX. You will build, test, and troubleshoot a diverse fleet of drones, integrating autonomy software and supporting flight demonstrations.

You will work with fixed-wing and multirotor platforms, configure flight controllers, and collaborate with engineers to improve performance. US citizenship is required.

Qualifications

• 2+ years of hands-on drone engineering or UAV integration experience.
• Experience with fixed-wing and multirotor drones.
• Direct experience using ArduPilot or Betaflight.
• Strong troubleshooting across flight controllers, electronics, and mechanics.
• Experience building, repairing, configuring, or modifying drones.
• Hands-on with different UAV platforms and willingness to learn new systems.
• Willingness to work on-site in Austin, TX and travel as needed.
• US citizenship is required.
• Experience with PX4, VTOL, ELRS/CRSF, CAD, 3D printing, robotics or autonomy software is a plus.
• Engineering degree preferred but not required with strong practical experience.

Responsibilities

• Build, maintain, troubleshoot, and test a fleet of drones (fixed-wing and multirotor).
• Integrate autonomy software and support flight testing.
• Diagnose flight controller, electrical, and hardware issues.
• Configure flight controllers using ArduPilot or Betaflight.
• Collaborate with engineers to assess new drone platforms and improve performance.
• Support hardware modifications, electronics integration, and system upgrades.
• Conduct hands-on testing to ensure drones are safe and deployment-ready.
• Document issues, maintenance, configurations, and test results.
• Contribute to growth of our drone engineering capabilities.

Skills

Drone engineering

Troubleshooting

Hands-on hardware testing

Flight testing

Documentation

Education

Engineering degree preferred

Tools

ArduPilot

Betaflight

PX4

CAD

3D printing

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