Mechanical Engineer - Drone Development, Design & Test

havocai; United States; On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

HavocAI in the United States seeks a Senior Mechanical Engineer to lead airframe design for Locust, our unmanned aircraft system, transitioning from prototype to fieldable LRIP platform.

You'll own mechanical designs for manufacture, perform structural analysis, and drive system-level integration while coordinating with vendors, government customers, and cross-functional teams on schedule and budget.

Qualifications

• BS or MS in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering.
• 3+ years of mechanical product development experience.
• Strong 3D CAD and mechanical design experience.
• Hands-on assembly, troubleshooting, and testing of electromechanical systems.
• Experience taking hardware from concept through prototype and testing.

Responsibilities

• Design mechanical components and enclosures for unmanned aerial systems.
• Develop concepts and detailed designs using 3D CAD.
• Own mechanical designs from initial requirements through prototype, test, iteration, and production release.
• Support flight testing and vehicle-level integration.
• Work with machine shops, fabrication vendors, and suppliers to prototype hardware.

Skills

3D CAD

Hardware prototyping

Electromechanical systems

Tolerancing

Manufacturing processes

Education

BS or MS in Mechanical/Aerospace Engineering

Tools

CNC machining

Sheet metal

Composites

Job description

About Us:

Havoc is a leader in all-domain collaborative autonomy. Its software-defined hardware approach powers military and commercial-grade autonomous systems across sea, air, and land to sense, decide, and act together in complex and contested environments. Havoc connects assets, enabling them to share information, adapt in real time, and continue operating even when communications are disrupted or denied. Havoc optimizes mission performance and minimizes human risk.

Havoc was founded in 2024 and headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island. Learn more at Havoc: All-Domain Collaborative Autonomy .

About the Role

HavocAI is seeking a Senior Mechanical Engineer to lead the technical maturation of Locust, our advanced unmanned aircraft system (UAS), as it transitions from a demonstrated prototype to a Department of Defense (DoD) fieldable, Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) platform. This is a hands-on engineering leadership role where you'll drive airframe design for manufacture, structural analysis, and system-level integration while providing the program leadership necessary to keep the production effort on schedule and within budget.

You will serve as the primary technical authority for Locust's production readiness, working closely with manufacturing partners, government customers, and cross-functional engineering teams. Success in this role means delivering a robust, mission-ready aircraft that can withstand the demands of operational use while being reliably manufactured at production scale. We are looking for an engineer who is equally comfortable designing parts in CAD, working with vendors and machinists, assembling prototypes, and getting into the field or test environment to understand why something failed. This is not a purely analytical or desk-based engineering position. The ideal candidate has experience developing drones, UAVs, robotics, autonomous systems, or other lightweight electromechanical platforms and enjoys moving quickly between design and hardware.

Key Responsibilities

• Design mechanical components, assemblies, structures, enclosures, mounts, and mechanisms for unmanned aerial systems
• Develop concepts and detailed designs using 3D CAD
• Own mechanical designs from initial requirements through prototype, test, iteration, and production release
• Build and assemble prototype vehicles and subsystems
• Work directly with machine shops, fabrication vendors, and suppliers to rapidly produce prototype hardware
• Develop engineering drawings, tolerances, interfaces, and manufacturing documentation
• Perform engineering calculations including structural, load, thermal, vibration, tolerance, and basic mechanical analysis
• Design lightweight structures while balancing strength, stiffness, manufacturability, cost, and weight
• Develop and execute mechanical test plans Conduct structural, vibration, environmental, durability, and system-level testing
• Diagnose mechanical failures and rapidly implement design improvements
• Support flight testing and vehicle-level integration
• Work closely with electrical, embedded, autonomy, controls, manufacturing, and test engineers
• Design for manufacturability, assembly, serviceability, and field repair
• Participate directly in vehicle builds, troubleshooting, test campaigns, and engineering validation

Required Qualifications

• BS or MS in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related discipline
• 3+ years of mechanical product development experience
• Strong 3D CAD and mechanical design experience
• Demonstrated experience taking hardware from concept through prototype and testing
• Hands-on experience assembling, modifying, troubleshooting, and testing electromechanical systems
• Strong understanding of mechanical design fundamentals including materials, fasteners, tolerancing, structures, and manufacturing processes
• Experience designing parts for CNC machining, sheet metal, composites, additive manufacturing, or similar fabrication processes
• Experience developing test fixtures and executing mechanical validation testing
• Ability to independently troubleshoot hardware failures and drive design changes

Preferred Qualifications

• Direct experience designing or developing UAVs, drones, UAS, aircraft, robotics, or autonomous vehicles
• Experience with small or Group 1-3 unmanned aircraft
• Experience with airframes, propulsion integration, payload integration, landing systems, or flight-control hardware
• Experience with composite structures
• Experience transitioning prototype designs into low-rate or production manufacturing

Why HavocAI

At HavocAI, you'll help build autonomous systems that solve real-world challenges in some of the most demanding environments imaginable. You'll work alongside exceptional engineers, move quickly, and see your work transition from prototype to production and ultimately into the hands of operators. If you're excited about solving difficult engineering problems, owning critical technical decisions, and helping shape the future o