About the role
We are looking for a Founding Hardware Engineer with 4-5+ years of experience to own the entire hardware stack at a YC-backed defense startup building autonomous drone systems for Western special forces. You'll work directly with the CEO (a self-taught embedded electronics engineer with 11 years of drone experience) to shape products from first schematic to flying systems in contested combat environments. This is a rare opportunity to join a tiny, high-impact team with contracts across UK Defence, Ukraine, Estonia, and the USA — where your work will directly influence what the most elite military units take into the field. You'll start as a hands-on IC doing rapid prototyping and board bring-up, then grow into the technical leader of the hardware org, hiring and mentoring the team beneath you.
What will you be doing?
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Collaborating directly with the CEO to define and shape the next generation of modular drone products — translating insights from real warfare and special forces feedback into hardware architecture decisions
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Designing and building PCBs end-to-end: flight controllers, motor drivers, power systems, companion computers, and sensor boards using STM32 MCUs and system-on-modules
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Owning the full lifecycle from schematic capture and routing through board bring-up, flight testing, iteration, and production — including working with manufacturers on Gerbers and DFM
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Setting up a permanent UK manufacturing facility and defining the engineering tools, processes, and culture for the hardware team
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Hiring, mentoring, and managing junior hardware engineers as the team scales — building the founding hardware org from the ground up
