About the role
AICE builds swarms of fast, low-cost underwater drones for interception, neutralization, and critical-infrastructure defense. You will own the physical drone: mechanics, electronics, firmware, integration, all the way to a swimming prototype, plus the software tools that run the workshop and the trials.
Must-haves:
- 5+ years in hardware development, with at least one complex physical product designed and shipped end to end
- Strong mechanical CAD (SolidWorks, Fusion 360, or equivalent) and rapid prototyping
- Solid embedded electronics: PCB design/modification, oscilloscope debugging, sensor integration
- Firmware in C/C++ on microcontrollers (STM32, ESP32, or equivalent)
- Comfortable with Python and web development for internal tools
Nice to have: maritime/subsea experience, defense/aerospace/automotive background, DFM, battery systems.
About AICE
AICE is a two-person, pre-seed YC Spring 2026 startup building autonomous, modular unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) designed to monitor and protect critical naval infrastructure. Originally founded as an energy-monitoring company ('AICE Power'), the company pivoted in May 2026 to subsea defense drones. Their thesis is that low-cost, high-volume underwater drone swarms can disrupt expensive legacy naval platforms, analogous to aerial drones in Ukraine. The company targets NATO and allied naval operators, maritime special operations forces, and coast guards.