Senior Hardware Architect, Edge Laser Systems, Equity

Aurelius Systems; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 215,000 - 305,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary and equity

United Health Care coverage

PTO + 5 sick days

Field test travel

Lunch & snacks

Job summary

Aurelius Systems is a VC-backed defense tech startup developing autonomous, edge-deployed directed energy systems for counter-UAS. We build laser weapons to shoot down drones.

We are a small team of ~10 engineers, field-testing weekly and shipping hardware that matters. The Hardware Engineer will bring senior technical judgment across Archimedes hardware, leading by example, unblocking hard problems, and setting the bar for how hardware gets designed and shipped.

Qualifications

• Deep experience designing and shipping complex hardware systems.
• Track record taking systems from prototype through manufacturing and deployment.
• Senior IC or technical leadership background at hardware companies that shipped.

Responsibilities

• Architectural direction across the hardware stack from mechanical, electrical, power, to embedded integration.
• Make technical decisions on the hardest problems from concept through production readiness.
• Surface risk early and guide junior engineers to avoid common issues.
• Hands-on execution when specialized experience is required to solve a problem quickly.
• Design and manufacturing trades across cost, mass, reliability, schedule, and field performance.
• Cross-team judgment when hardware, controls, optics, and software collide.
• Set the technical bar for design reviews, documentation quality, and release standards.
• Mentor by example to help engineers learn through observation.

Skills

Hardware design

Full development cycle

Leadership experience

Multi-domain expertise

Job description

Aurelius Systems is a VC-backed defense tech startup developing autonomous, edge-deployed directed energy systems for counter-UAS. We build laser weapons to shoot down drones.

We are a small team of ~10 engineers, field-testing weekly and shipping hardware that matters. The Hardware Engineer will bring senior technical judgment across Archimedes hardware, leading by example, unblocking hard problems, and setting the bar for how hardware gets designed and shipped.