Drone Engineer

Drone Engineer

Oxenham Group

Location: Austin, Texas (on-site; relocation required with travel required)

Employment Type: Full-time

Reports To: Chief Technology Officer

Security Clearance: Eligibility to obtain a security clearance is required

Compensation: Salary + Equity

About the Company

Our Client is a startup building proprietary targeting software for unmanned systems. Manufacturers integrate this software directly onto UAVs, USVs, UUVs, and other unmanned vehicles, where it runs on the vehicle's onboard computer.

This software detects, classifies, and tracks targets from onboard cameras, maintains persistent target identity when video degrades or breaks up, and can execute terminal guidance through to impact. It is built to keep operating in contested environments: when GPS is denied and communications links are jammed.

Our Client has previously held Department of War (DoW) contracts, including work with Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) and U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM).

Position Summary

Our Client is looking for someone who loves building and flying drones. As a Drone Engineer, you will work hands-on with a large, highly heterogeneous fleet of drones from a wide variety of manufacturers. You will keep that fleet up and running while playing a key role in integrating and evaluating our autonomy software on new platforms.

The expectation is to solve any problem that comes up, whether it lives in the flight controller, the electrical system, or the physical airframe.

Alternate titles: We are working with the title Drone Engineer, but we are open to a title better suited to the candidate's background, such as Aerospace Engineer, Mechanical Engineer, or Electrical Engineer.

Key Responsibilities

• Maintain, repair, and keep flight-ready a heterogeneous fleet of fixed-wing, multirotor, and other unmanned platforms from multiple manufacturers.

• Integrate the company's autonomy and targeting software onto new drone platforms, including onboard compute, camera, and flight controller integration.

• Plan and conduct flight tests to evaluate software performance on new and existing platforms, and document results for the engineering team.

• Diagnose and resolve issues across flight controllers, firmware configuration, and tuning (ArduPilot, Betaflight, and related stacks).

• Troubleshoot and repair electrical systems, including power distribution, ESCs, motors, wiring, connectors, and radio and video links.

• Diagnose and fix physical and mechanical problems, including airframe damage, mounting, vibration, and payload integration.

• Build, modify, and prototype drones, mounts, and components as needed.

• Support field testing, demonstrations, and customer engagements, including travel to test sites.

• Maintain fleet records, configurations, and maintenance logs.

Required Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience with both fixed-wing and copter-style drones.

• Direct experience with ArduPilot or Betaflight.

• Willingness to relocate to Austin, Texas.

• Willingness to travel.

• Experience working on export-controlled technology.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with both ArduPilot and Betaflight, including ELRS/CRSF radio links.

• Experience with less common drone configurations such as tail sitters, VTOL, and similar designs.

• Experience with UGVs and USVs.

• Has built their own drones.

• Experience with CAD and 3D printing.

• Degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or Computer Science (or equivalent experience).

Nice to Have

• Experience with PX4.

• Experience with autonomy.

• Willingness to travel to Ukraine.

What Success Looks Like

• A fleet that is consistently flight-ready with minimal downtime.

• Autonomy software integrated and flying on new platforms quickly and reliably.

• Clear, well-documented test results that help engineering improve the product.

Export Control & Clearance Requirements

This role works on export-controlled technology. Candidates must be a U.S. person: a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or other protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3).