PRECISION MILITARY UAVS

Soaring Technologies designs and manufactures autonomous heavy-lift drones that transform logistics and save lives — with a strong foothold in defense and a vision toward commercial expansion. Our cross-functional team of 25+ is headquartered in El Segundo, CA, where we operate at the cutting edge of aerospace technology.

WHY SOARING TECHNOLOGIES?

▸ Mission-Driven Impact: Contribute to life-saving logistics solutions and national security.

▸ Innovation Culture: Work at the edge of autonomy, aviation, and hardware-software integration.

▸ Career Trajectory: Lead a foundational team and shape the technical DNA of our company.

▸ Collaborative Team: Join a fast-moving startup with purpose-driven, passionate peers

About the Job

As a Mechanical Design Engineer, you will focus on designing, analyzing, and simulating mechanical subsystems for unmanned aerial systems and related technologies. Your responsibilities include developing innovative designs and ensuring their efficiency and effectiveness at every assembly level. You will establish and adhere to best practices that align with our company’s project goals and objectives. Collaborating closely with team members, you’ll contribute to strategy development, task execution, and process standardization. Additionally, you’ll provide support and expertise to colleagues on related projects as needed.  This position requires on-site attendance with working hours from 9am to 6pm. 

Essential Duties & Responsibilities 

▸ Engineer innovative, efficient mechanical subsystems for unmanned aerial systems and related technologies. 

▸ Perform detailed analyses and simulations to optimize mechanical designs. 

▸ Contribute to the development of system architecture, ensuring effective integration of mechanical components. 

▸ Lead the building and testing of prototypes to refine system performance. 

▸ Develop comprehensive test plans for validating the performance and reliability of mechanical components. 

▸ Choose appropriate components based on functionality, cost, and compatibility. 

▸ DFMA in collaboration with Manufacture Engineers 

▸ Maintain best practices in line with company goals and regulatory standards. 

▸ Work collaboratively with team members on strategy, task execution, and standardizing processes 

In addition to the above duties and responsibilities, all employees are required to regularly complete documentation of their work in company systems to retain institutional knowledge.  This must be completed in the manner designated by the company.  In addition, all employees must complete any safety or compliance training as assigned by the due date. 

Requirements 

Education | Bachelor’s Degree or higher in mechanical engineering
Prior Experience | Must have 5-7 years of experience in drafting and mechanical engineering
Computer Skills | Siemens NX, SolidWorks, MS Excel, MS Word, MS Outlook, basic computer literacy 

Technical Skills | Drafting in a CAD environment  

Industry-Specific Knowledge | UAV Design, Aerial Systems, and DFMA  

Preferred Skills | Strong leadership skills and ability to work independently. Communication, problem solving and teamwork skills Language Skills | English

Work Location: In person on-site

Job Type: Full Time

Pay: $135K-$170K / year

Job is on-site Monday to Friday. Must be comfortable working at our production facility.

PRECISION MILITARY UAVS

Soaring Technologies designs and manufactures autonomous heavy-lift drones that transform logistics and save lives — with a strong foothold in defense and a vision toward commercial expansion. Our cross-functional team of 25+ is headquartered in El Segundo, CA, where we operate at the cutting edge of aerospace technology.

WHY SOARING TECHNOLOGIES?

▸ Mission-Driven Impact: Contribute to life-saving logistics solutions and national security.

▸ Innovation Culture: Work at the edge of autonomy, aviation, and hardware-software integration.

▸ Career Trajectory: Lead a foundational team and shape the technical DNA of our company.

▸ Collaborative Team: Join a fast-moving startup with purpose-driven, passionate peers

About The Career Opportunity

We are seeking a seasoned and dynamic engineering leader to scale, direct, and inspire our multidisciplinary hardware, electrical, and software engineering teams. As our top engineering executive, you will bridge technical execution with strategic direction, interfacing both externally (e.g., defense customers, partners, Board of Directors) and internally (from product design to shop floor troubleshooting). You will shape Soaring’s technical roadmap, ensure engineering excellence, and lead the delivery of robust, mission-ready UAV systems.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

Leadership & Strategy

▸ Define and drive the engineering vision, structure, and strategy across hardware, embedded systems, and flight software.

▸ Develop the long-term engineering roadmap in alignment with company goals, and communicate it effectively to stakeholders, investors, and Board members.

▸ Build and mentor a high-performing engineering team, fostering technical growth and accountability.

Technical Program Management & Execution

▸ Oversee technical program execution including planning, scheduling, resource allocation, and delivery of milestones.

▸ Establish and manage engineering KPIs to track program and team performance.

▸ Own the configuration management strategy, ensuring traceability, consistency, and control of system baselines across all product lines.

▸ Create, implement, and continuously improve processes related to design reviews, change control, and engineering documentation.

Engineering Oversight

▸ Provide technical direction across mechanical, electrical, and software domains — with the ability to dive hands-on as needed in Onshape (CAD), Altium (PCB), and PX4-based flight control environments.

▸ Guide system integration efforts, ensuring alignment between design intent and field performance.

▸ Lead formal RAMS (Reliability, Availability, Maintainability, Safety) analyses to validate systems against mission-critical requirements.

▸ Drive integration and validation of key sensors such as radios, cameras, GPS modules, magnetometers, and other navigation or payload systems.

▸ Support the development of test plans, simulation models, validation protocols, and certification readiness.

Customer & Board Engagement

▸ Serve as the principal technical representative in customer meetings, defense partner briefings, and Board engagements.

▸ Manage resolution of technical discrepancies, evolving requirements, and engineering tradeoffs through clear communication and cross-functional collaboration.

In addition to the above duties and responsibilities, all employees are required to regularly complete documentation of their work in company systems to retain institutional knowledge. This must be completed in the manner designated by the company. In addition, all employees must complete any safety or compliance training as assigned by the due date. This document is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of this position. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change, or new ones may be assigned at any time with or without notice.

Requirements

Education: bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, aerospace engineering, or a related technical field.
▸ 8+ years of engineering experience in aerospace, defense, robotics, or high-reliability autonomous systems.

▸ 5+ years of direct technical team leadership, including managing engineering programs from design through deployment.

▸ Strong communication skills and demonstrated experience working directly with customers and Board members in high-stakes environments.

Deep technical background in at least two of the following:

▸ UAV systems (mechanical structures, propulsion, sensors)

▸ Electrical systems and PCB design (Altium)

▸ Embedded software and flight control systems (PX4, C++, RTOS)

Proven experience with:

▸ Sensor integration (e.g., radios, cameras, GPS, magnetometers, IMUs)

▸ Technical Program Management, including milestone planning, resource tracking, and cross-functional execution.

▸ Configuration Management and version control for hardware and software systems.

▸ RAMS analyses include FMEA, fault tree analysis, and reliability modeling.

▸ KPI development and engineering team performance tracking.

Preferred Skills

▸ Familiarity with Onshape, Altium, PX4, and aerospace test & certification workflows.

▸ DevSecOps knowledge and experience building automated development pipelines.

▸ Understanding of commercial drone market trends and regulatory frameworks (FAA, FCC, CE/UL)

▸ Cloud integration experience (e.g., AWS/Azure, S/4 HANA).

Language Skills: English

Work Location: In person on-site

Job Type: Full Time

Pay: $180K–$265K / year