Senior Rapid Prototyping Engineer, UAV Systems & Hardware

havocai; United States; On-site; USD 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Insurance

401k (Matching)

Equity package

Paid Parental Leave

Stipend for Work/Home Office

Job summary

HavocAI seeks a Senior Rapid Prototyping Engineer to lead the maturation of Locust, our advanced unmanned aircraft system, from prototype to DoD LRIP. You will work directly with hardware, turning concepts into functioning prototypes, integrating mechanical and electrical systems, and conducting tests.

Join a fast-paced team shipping production-ready autonomous systems and shaping the future of defense technology through rapid iteration and hands-on engineering across airframes, propulsion, and

Qualifications

• BS in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Robotics, Mechatronics, or equivalent practical engineering experience.
• 3+ years developing physical hardware systems.
• Demonstrated experience building and testing drones, UAVs, robotics, aircraft, or autonomous systems.
• Strong mechanical CAD skills.
• Hands-on experience building electromechanical prototypes.
• Experience with multiple manufacturing and fabrication processes.
• Strong mechanical intuition and ability to troubleshoot real-world hardware problems.
• Comfortable using common shop tools and performing prototype assembly and modification.

Responsibilities

• Rapidly turn concepts and requirements into functional drone prototypes.
• Design and modify airframes, mechanisms, brackets, mounts, enclosures, payload interfaces, and vehicle components.
• Build and assemble prototype unmanned aircraft and subsystems.
• Integrate motors, propulsion systems, batteries, avionics, sensors, compute hardware, communications, equipment, and payloads.
• Create quick-turn CAD designs and engineering drawings.
• Use additive manufacturing, CNC machining, sheet metal, composites, and other fabrication methods to produce prototype parts.
• Perform hands‑on fabrication, assembly, rework, and modification of prototype hardware.
• Develop test fixtures and experimental setups.
• Support bench testing, ground testing, environmental testing, and flight testing.
• Diagnose hardware and integration failures across mechanical and electromechanical systems.
• Rapidly redesign components based on test results.

Skills

Prototype hardware

Drones/UAS

Mechanical design

Hands-on fabrication

Test and troubleshoot hardware

CAD design

Education

BS in Mechanical Engineering / Aerospace / Robotics / Mechatronics

Tools

CAD software

Job description

HavocAI seeks a Senior Rapid Prototyping Engineer to lead the maturation of Locust, our advanced unmanned aircraft system, from prototype to DoD LRIP. You will work directly with hardware, turning concepts into functioning prototypes, integrating mechanical and electrical systems, and conducting tests.

Join a fast-paced team shipping production-ready autonomous systems and shaping the future of defense technology through rapid iteration and hands-on engineering across airframes, propulsion, and