Mechanical Engineer

Icarus; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 100,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Meaningful equity

Health, dental, and vision insurance

Daily lunch

Unlimited Celsius

Job summary

Icarus in Los Angeles is seeking an engineer to design and fly solar-powered aircraft at altitudes of 60,000 ft. This innovative role emphasizes rapid iteration, where you'll own mechanical subsystems and collaborate closely with a small, talented team, including the CEO.

The ideal candidate excels under pressure, thrives in a hands-on environment, and possesses a strong understanding of engineering principles. The position offers a competitive salary range of $100,000 to $160,000 and meaningful equity.

Qualifications

• 1+ years of experience in designing, analyzing or building mechanical hardware.
• Strong fundamentals in structures, materials, and first-principles engineering.
• Comfortable working hands-on in the factory and field.

Responsibilities

• Design and fly lightweight stratospheric aircraft.
• Own mechanical subsystems from concept to flight.
• Build, test, break, and refine flight hardware.

Skills

Mechanical hardware design

Structures fundamentals

Composites and sheet metal

Hands-on experience

Job description

Icarus was founded on the belief that the Stratosphere is the Forgotten Frontier and that reclaiming it will define the next era of aerospace and what is possible from the sky. We build solar-powered aircraft that fly at 60,000 ft for weeks at a time, delivering persistent, affordable, and scalable presence from this layer of the atmosphere.

Mission

Re-establish and maintain dominance in the Stratosphere.

What you’ll do

• Design and fly lightweight, high-reliability structures for stratospheric aircraft
• Own mechanical subsystems from concept to flight
• Perform first-principles sizing, trade studies, and rapid iteration
• Build, test, break, and refine flight hardware
• Support integration, production, and flight operations
• Work closely with avionics, GNC, power, RF, and software teams

What we’re looking for

• 1+ years designing, analyzing, or building real mechanical hardware
• Strong fundamentals in structures, materials, and first-principles engineering
• Experience with lightweight structures, composites, sheet metal, or bonded assemblies
• Comfortable moving fast, owning outcomes, and working hands-on in the factory and field

Why Icarus

• Meaningful equity
• Top market salary and bonuses
• Health, dental, and vision insurance
• Factory in El Segundo
• Real ownership, real hardware, real flight
• Small team, massive responsibility
• High signal (engineering) to noise (management) culture
• Dream desk setup
• Daily lunch
• Unlimited Celsius

This is not a normal engineering job

• We are pioneers, not corporate managers. Icarus deliberately optimizes for a high signal (engineers) to noise (management) ratio, where engineering, flight, and execution matter more than process, politics, or management overhead
• You will work side by side with the CEO and a small team of world-class builders. You will own your subsystem end to end. Design it. Build it. Break it. Fix it. Validate it in the desert. Fly it. Then do it again, faster
• We expect full extreme ownership. This is a high-trust, no-BS team, and everyone pulls their weight
• We are hiring across the stack: mechanical, aerodynamics, RF, GNC, electrical, avionics, power electronics, energy storage, software, and systems
• We want builders. No hand-holding. No fluff. No fake projects. No slide decks. No sitting in meetings all day. Just raw engineering, real hardware, and real flight
• You must thrive under pressure, learn fast, troubleshoot in the field, and push hardware to its limits. We move fast. We go to Mojave at 4 am in the morning. We expect results and an obsession with quality and speed
• You will be a core executor of flight systems, taking them from concept to reality and driving rapid iteration loops. You will work across design, integration, testing, and flight. If you want real ownership, real hardware, and real flight milestones, this is it.

Hiring process

• Technical interview
• One-on-one with CEO
• Meet the team in-person

US salary range

$100,000 - $160,000 USD

The salary range for this role is an estimate based on a wide range of compensation factors, inclusive of base salary only. Actual salary may vary based on (but not limited to) work experience, education and/or training, critical skills, and/or business considerations. Highly competitive equity grants are considered part of Icarus' total compensation package.

We’re an equal opportunity employer. We welcome all applicants without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.