Director of Hardware

The role

You will lead hardware execution for autonomous cargo aircraft, taking designs from prototype through production, test and fielded reliability. You will lead and grow the hardware engineering team and work closely with flight, software, manufacturing and supply chain.

What you will do

• Own aircraft hardware execution across structures, avionics, power, and system integration.
• Lead and grow the hardware engineering team with a strong emphasis on quality, accountability, and velocity.
• Make and drive critical technical decisions through design reviews, trade studies, and system integration.
• Take hardware from prototype to production with a focus on manufacturability and reliability.
• Partner closely with manufacturing, supply chain, and flight test to close the loop between design, production, and operations.
• Establish hardware standards, documentation, and test practices that scale with the fleet.
• Support certification, compliance, and customer driven requirements as programs mature.

Required qualifications

• Proven experience shipping complex hardware systems into production.
• Experience leading hardware teams while staying close to design and integration work.
• Strong background in avionics, aircraft systems, or tightly integrated electromechanical platforms.
• Experience with UAVs, aircraft certification environments, or defense programs.
• A track record of building hardware that performs in real operational environments.
• Comfort operating in fast moving teams with real schedule, cost, and mission constraints.
• Willingness to be on the floor, at the flight line, and in the loop when things break.

Nice to have

• Experience scaling hardware from early production to higher volume.
• Startup experience building teams, processes, and systems from the ground up.

Benefits

• Stock options
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Paid time off
• Paid holidays
• 401k
• Life insurance
• Relocation assistance for candidates moving to Austin

Before you apply

• Due to U.S. government contract requirements, this role is limited to U.S. citizens, U.S. permanent residents, or candidates from specific countries authorized under applicable export control regulati

About the company

Skyways designs, builds, and operates fully autonomous long range cargo aircraft. Founded in 2017, it has spent nearly a decade developing autonomous logistics systems, backed by Y Combinator and a $37M AFWERX STRATFI award from the U.S. Air Force.