Founding Motor Engineer and Business Lead

Vilya Systems, Inc.; United States; On-site; USD 100,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Vilya Systems, Inc. is looking for a Founding Motor Engineer & Business Lead to design and build a new line of BLDC motors primarily for gimbal applications. The ideal candidate will have over 10 years of experience in motor design and manufacturing, hands-on skills, and a proven track record of scaling production lines. This contract position will transition to a founding engineer role with equity. Remote work is possible; onsite presence will be needed during build-out of production in specific locations.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in BLDC motor design and manufacturing, shipment experience required.
• Deep electromagnetics knowledge and ability to spec lamination and winding.
• Experience with hands-on aspects of motor manufacturing.
• Proven capability in scaling motor production lines from prototypes to high volumes.
• Experience in supplier qualification and country-of-origin specification.
• Comfortable in a fast-cycle, small-team setting.

Responsibilities

• Design BLDC motors primarily for gimbal applications.
• Stand up a motor production line, improving specifications and processes.
• Qualify domestic suppliers and manage compliance with regulations.
• Shape external roadmaps and achieve design wins with customers.

Skills

BLDC motor design

Electromagnetics

Hands-on manufacturing

Supplier qualification

Small-team environment

Tools

Ansys Maxwell

Motor-CAD

JMAG

Job description

Founding Motor Engineer & Business Lead (Contract → Equity) — NDAA-Compliant BLDC Motor

Manufacturing

There is a structural gap in the US drone industrial base: every Blue UAS manufacturer needs small brushless gimbal motors, and the entire sub-40mm market is Chinese. T-Motor, iPower, SteadyWin, Mitoot — all Shenzhen. The allied-nation alternatives (Maxon, Faulhaber, ThinGap, Celera, Alva) are 5–10× the price because they're built for medical and industrial servo markets, not drones. With the December 2025 FCC ruling adding foreign UAS motors to the Covered List, this isn't a sourcing problem anymore — it's a regulatory wall, and the entire industry is hitting it at the same time.

Vilya Systems is going to build that motor line. We have the pull (our own gimbal programs justify the first 5,000–10,000 units/year), the operator background, and the supply‑chain map. We need someone to help design it, build it, and run with it.

The work

• Motor design. BLDC frameless or fully‑housed, primarily slotless / Halbach in the 20–40mm OD class for gimbal applications, with a follow‑on roadmap into propulsion and precision servo. Electromagnetic design, winding pattern, magnet grade, air gap — you spec it, simulate it, prototype it.
• Manufacturing. Stand up the line. Spec the needle winder, the magnetizer, the bearing press, the test stand. Design fixtures and work instructions. We've mapped a rough capex path to 1,000 units/month and a scale path to 10,000+/month — you execute it and improve it.
• Supply chain. Qualify domestic laminations, NdFeB magnets (USA Rare Earth, Quadrant, Thomas & Skinner, Arnold), magnet wire, bearings, shafts, housings. Build country‑of‑origin traceability into the BOM from day one. NDAA Section 848 and Buy American compliance is the product.
• Customers. Vilya's gimbal programs are your launch customer. Beyond that, every Blue UAS gimbal maker has the same problem we do — you'll help shape the external roadmap and the first 3–5 design wins outside Vilya.

What we need

• 10+ years in BLDC motor design and manufacturing — you've personally shipped motors, not just designed them on paper.
• Deep electromagnetics: Ansys Maxwell, Motor-CAD, or JMAG; you can spec lamination geometry, winding pattern, and magnet grade from torque / speed / cogging requirements.
• Hands‑on manufacturing: winding (hand and semi‑auto), magnet bonding, balance, bearing press, back‑EMF and dyno test.
• You've stood up or significantly scaled a motor production line before — prototype quantities through 1,000s/month.
• Supplier qualification chops: you know who actually ships domestic NdFeB, who's bluffing about it, and how to write a country‑of‑origin spec that holds up under audit.
• Comfort in a small‑team, fast‑cycle environment. First prototype turns are measured in weeks, not quarters.

Nice to have

• Small motor (sub‑50mm) gimbal or precision servo experience.
• AS9100 / ISO 9001 quality system buildout.
• Defense or aerospace background; Buy American / Section 848 fluency.
• Prior business‑line or P&L responsibility — you'll have real ownership of this one.

Structure

Starts as a 1099 sub‑contractor for the first 60–90 days while we build the joint plan and confirm fit on both sides. Strong fit converts to founding engineer with meaningful equity and operational leadership of the motor business as it stands up. Vilya is venture‑backed and shipping; this business line has internal demand from day one and a real external market behind it.

Bench and pilot line will live in Salt Lake City, UT / Cleveland, OH, / Tempe, AZ. Remote design work is fine; on‑site time will be required during build‑out.

If you've designed and shipped a sub-40mm BLDC and stood up the line behind it, send me a one-page sketch of how you'd attack the first $50K of capex. Reply here or email me directly at [e-mail].