Embedded Engineer
Our client company applies AI to Ukraine’s drone fleet, flying on live combat missions. The company is partnered with some of the major OEMs and brigades in Ukraine, and its AI is also deployed on EU platforms.
The company was built on a simple premise: deterrence is proven in the field, not built in a laboratory. The company is hiring a Lead Flight Systems Engineer who wants to keep building, not step away from it.
This role leads the Pilot and Platform engineering teams — not through day-to-day people management or payroll, but through architecture, product decisions and direct technical leadership. A CTO sits above this role to handle strategy, business and financing; this position exists so that whoever holds it can stay close to the code and the customer instead of being pulled upward into the business.
Key Responsibilities
- Work with the product team to shape what gets built.
- Own system architecture across the flight autopilot and hardware/platform layers.
- Drive both the Pilot and Platform engineering teams to ship.
- Direct product and architectural decisions, guide the engineering teams, and participate in recruiting talent.
- Stay hands-on in the codebase (roughly half of the role).
Requirements
- Deep hands-on engineering ability — credible in the codebase, not just above it.
- Experience owning system architecture across complex, hardware-adjacent software systems.
- A track record of driving engineering teams to ship, without relying on formal management authority.
- Comfort working closely with product and OEM stakeholders on real-world tradeoffs.
- A build-first mentality — this is not a strategy or business-facing role.
Company Offer
- Top-of-market compensation + equity.
- A senior technical role explicitly structured to keep you building and close to the customer.
- Direct influence over the architecture and product driving into combat.
- Military exemption (reservation) may be provided, subject to available company quota.