Icarus

Icarus was founded on the belief that the Stratosphere is the Forgotten Frontier and that reclaiming it will define the next era of aerospace and what is possible from the sky. We build solar-powered aircraft that fly at 60,000 ft for weeks at a time, delivering persistent, affordable, and scalable presence from this layer of the atmosphere. Mission Re-establish and maintain dominance in the Stratosphere. What you’ll do Design, implement, and fly guidance, navigation, and control systems for long-endurance stratospheric aircraft Own the GNC stack end to end: modeling, simulation, control law design, estimation, tuning, validation, and flight test Develop and maintain vehicle dynamics models and simulation environments Design and tune controllers for launch, climb, station-keeping, loiter, descent, and recovery Integrate GNC tightly with avionics, sensors, propulsion, and autonomy software Debug and iterate rapidly using flight data, hardware-in-the-loop, and field testing Support integration, production bring-up, and flight operations in the desert What we’re looking for 2+ years working on real GNC systems for aircraft, UAVs, spacecraft, or similarly complex dynamic systems Strong fundamentals in dynamics, controls, estimation, and linear systems Experience with state estimation (EKF/UKF), sensor fusion, and inertial navigation Experience designing and tuning control systems that fly on real vehicles Comfortable working from first principles and validating with test and flight data Ability to move fast, own outcomes, and troubleshoot in the field Why Icarus Meaningful equity Top market salary and bonuses Health, dental, and vision insurance Factory in El Segundo Real ownership, real hardware, real flight Small team, massive responsibility High signal (engineering) to noise (management) culture Dream desk setup Daily lunch Unlimited celsius This is not a normal engineering job We are pioneers, not corporate managers. Icarus deliberately optimizes for a high signal (engineers) to noise (management) ratio, where engineering, flight, and execution matter more than process, politics, or management overhead You will work side by side with the CEO and a small team of world-class builders. You will own your subsystem end to end. Design it. Build it. Break it. Fix it. Validate it in the desert. Fly it. Then do it again, faster We expect full extreme ownership. This is a high-trust, no-BS team, and everyone pulls their weight We are hiring across the stack: mechanical, aerodynamics, RF, GNC, electrical, avionics, power electronics, energy storage, software, and systems We want builders. No hand-holding. No fluff. No fake projects. No slide decks. No sitting in meetings all day. Just raw engineering, real hardware, and real flight You must thrive under pressure, learn fast, troubleshoot in the field, and push hardware to its limits. We move fast. We go to Mojave at 4 am in the morning. We expect results and an obsession with quality and speed You will be a core executor of flight hardware, taking systems from concept to reality and driving rapid iteration loops. You will work across avionics, power electronics, energy storage, integration, and production bring-up. If you want real ownership, real hardware, and real flight milestones, this is it No tourists. No bystanders. Only builders.

Icarus was founded on the belief that the Stratosphere is the Forgotten Frontier and that reclaiming it will define the next era of aerospace and what is possible from the sky. We build solar-powered aircraft that fly at 60,000 ft for weeks at a time, delivering persistent, affordable, and scalable presence from this layer of the atmosphere. Mission Re-establish and maintain dominance in the Stratosphere. What you’ll do Deploy forward with aircraft, ground systems, and engineers to real-world test sites and customer environments Own on-site integration, troubleshooting, and rapid iteration of flight hardware and software Act as the connective tissue between flight operations, engineering, and customers Debug avionics, RF, power, software, and mechanical issues in the field under time pressure Execute flight tests, demos, and exercises with minimal support and high autonomy Collect ground truth, flight data, and operator feedback and drive it back into the product Support customer training, mission planning, and operational workflows What we’re looking for 2+ years working on real systems in the field (aerospace, robotics, defense, autonomy, or hardware startups) Strong hands-on debugging skills across hardware and software Comfort working across disciplines: avionics, RF, embedded software, mechanical systems, and ops Ability to operate independently in ambiguous, high-pressure environments Strong communication skills with engineers, operators, and customers Willingness to travel frequently and operate out of test ranges, airfields, and remote locations Why Icarus Meaningful equity Top market salary and bonuses Health, dental, and vision insurance Factory in El Segundo Real ownership, real hardware, real flight Small team, massive responsibility High signal (engineering) to noise (management) culture Dream desk setup Daily lunch Unlimited celsius This is not a normal engineering job We are pioneers, not corporate managers. Icarus deliberately optimizes for a high signal (engineers) to noise (management) ratio, where engineering, flight, and execution matter more than process, politics, or management overhead You will work side by side with the CEO and a small team of world-class builders. You will own your subsystem end to end. Design it. Build it. Break it. Fix it. Validate it in the desert. Fly it. Then do it again, faster We expect full extreme ownership. This is a high-trust, no-BS team, and everyone pulls their weight We are hiring across the stack: mechanical, aerodynamics, RF, GNC, electrical, avionics, power electronics, energy storage, software, and systems We want builders. No hand-holding. No fluff. No fake projects. No slide decks. No sitting in meetings all day. Just raw engineering, real hardware, and real flight You must thrive under pressure, learn fast, troubleshoot in the field, and push hardware to its limits. We move fast. We go to Mojave at 4 am in the morning. We expect results and an obsession with quality and speed You will be a core executor of flight hardware, taking systems from concept to reality and driving rapid iteration loops. You will work across avionics, power electronics, energy storage, integration, and production bring-up. If you want real ownership, real hardware, and real flight milestones, this is it No tourists. No bystanders. Only builders.

Icarus was founded on the belief that the Stratosphere is the Forgotten Frontier and that reclaiming it will define the next era of aerospace and what is possible from the sky. We build solar-powered aircraft that fly at 60,000 ft for weeks at a time, delivering persistent, affordable, and scalable presence from this layer of the atmosphere. Mission Re-establish and maintain dominance in the Stratosphere. What you’ll do Build and own end-to-end software systems that power flight operations, autonomy, and user interaction Develop mission-critical backend services for telemetry, command and control, data ingestion, and analytics Build clean, fast frontends for ground control, monitoring, and operator workflows Design APIs and data pipelines that connect aircraft, ground stations, and users Work closely with embedded, avionics, GNC, RF, and operations teams to ship tightly integrated systems Support flight test, field ops, and rapid iteration using real flight data Take systems from concept to production with speed and ownership What we’re looking for 2+ years building real full-stack software in production Strong backend experience (Python, Go, Rust, or similar) Strong frontend experience (React, TypeScript, or similar) Experience designing APIs, databases, and distributed systems Comfort working close to hardware, real-time systems, or operational data Ability to move fast, own outcomes, and debug under pressure Why Icarus Meaningful equity Top market salary and bonuses Health, dental, and vision insurance Factory in El Segundo Real ownership, real hardware, real flight Small team, massive responsibility High signal (engineering) to noise (management) culture Dream desk setup Daily lunch Unlimited celsius This is not a normal engineering job We are pioneers, not corporate managers. Icarus deliberately optimizes for a high signal (engineers) to noise (management) ratio, where engineering, flight, and execution matter more than process, politics, or management overhead You will work side by side with the CEO and a small team of world-class builders. You will own your subsystem end to end. Design it. Build it. Break it. Fix it. Validate it in the desert. Fly it. Then do it again, faster We expect full extreme ownership. This is a high-trust, no-BS team, and everyone pulls their weight We are hiring across the stack: mechanical, aerodynamics, RF, GNC, electrical, avionics, power electronics, energy storage, software, and systems We want builders. No hand-holding. No fluff. No fake projects. No slide decks. No sitting in meetings all day. Just raw engineering, real hardware, and real flight You must thrive under pressure, learn fast, troubleshoot in the field, and push hardware to its limits. We move fast. We go to Mojave at 4 am in the morning. We expect results and an obsession with quality and speed You will be a core executor of flight hardware, taking systems from concept to reality and driving rapid iteration loops. You will work across avionics, power electronics, energy storage, integration, and production bring-up. If you want real ownership, real hardware, and real flight milestones, this is it No tourists. No bystanders. Only builders.

Icarus was founded on the belief that the Stratosphere is the Forgotten Frontier and that reclaiming it will define the next era of aerospace and what is possible from the sky. We build solar-powered aircraft that fly at 60,000 ft for weeks at a time, delivering persistent, affordable, and scalable presence from this layer of the atmosphere. Mission Re-establish and maintain dominance in the Stratosphere. What you’ll do Design and fly high-reliability avionics for stratospheric aircraft Own electrical subsystems from concept to flight Build, bring up, debug, and iterate fast Support integration, production, and flight ops Work closely with mechanical, GNC, RF, and software teams What we’re looking for 2+ years building real electronic hardware Strong fundamentals in EE and first-principles thinking Experience with power electronics, avionics, or high-reliability systems Comfortable moving fast, owning outcomes, and debugging in the field Why Icarus Meaningful equity Top market salary and bonuses Health, dental, and vision insurance Factory in El Segundo Real ownership, real hardware, real flight Small team, massive responsibility High signal (engineering) to noise (management) culture Dream desk setup Daily lunch Unlimited celsius This is not a normal engineering job We are pioneers, not corporate managers. Icarus deliberately optimizes for a high signal (engineers) to noise (management) ratio, where engineering, flight, and execution matter more than process, politics, or management overhead You will work side by side with the CEO and a small team of world-class builders. You will own your subsystem end to end. Design it. Build it. Break it. Fix it. Validate it in the desert. Fly it. Then do it again, faster We expect full extreme ownership. This is a high-trust, no-BS team, and everyone pulls their weight We are hiring across the stack: mechanical, aerodynamics, RF, GNC, electrical, avionics, power electronics, energy storage, software, and systems We want builders. No hand-holding. No fluff. No fake projects. No slide decks. No sitting in meetings all day. Just raw engineering, real hardware, and real flight You must thrive under pressure, learn fast, troubleshoot in the field, and push hardware to its limits. We move fast. We go to Mojave at 4 am in the morning. We expect results and an obsession with quality and speed You will be a core executor of flight hardware, taking systems from concept to reality and driving rapid iteration loops. You will work across avionics, power electronics, energy storage, integration, and production bring-up. If you want real ownership, real hardware, and real flight milestones, this is it No tourists. No bystanders. Only builders.

Icarus was founded on the belief that the Stratosphere is the Forgotten Frontier and that reclaiming it will define the next era of aerospace and what is possible from the sky. We build solar-powered aircraft that fly at 60,000 ft for weeks at a time, delivering persistent, affordable, and scalable presence from this layer of the atmosphere. Mission Re-establish and maintain dominance in the Stratosphere. What you’ll do Build and ship flight-critical embedded software for long-endurance stratospheric aircraft Own embedded subsystems end to end: architecture, implementation, bring-up, debugging, test, and flight validation Write firmware for MCU-based avionics, sensors, actuators, power systems, and comms interfaces Integrate sensors and peripherals (IMU, GNSS, air data, magnetometer, servos, radios) and build reliable drivers and middleware Design robust telemetry, logging, and health monitoring to support long-duration autonomous operations Build test harnesses, HIL hooks, and automation that makes iteration loops faster Support integration, production bring-up, and flight ops in the desert What we’re looking for 2+ years shipping real embedded systems (aerospace, robotics, automotive, defense, or similarly high-reliability domains) Strong C/C++ fundamentals and comfort working close to hardware Experience with RTOS or bare-metal firmware, interrupts, timing, and deterministic systems Experience with common embedded interfaces and protocols (SPI, I2C, UART, CAN, Ethernet) Strong debugging skills using scopes, logic analyzers, JTAG, and real-world fault reproduction Comfort moving fast, owning outcomes, and troubleshooting in the field Why Icarus Meaningful equity Top market salary and bonuses Health, dental, and vision insurance Factory in El Segundo Real ownership, real hardware, real flight Small team, massive responsibility High signal (engineering) to noise (management) culture Dream desk setup Daily lunch Unlimited celsius This is not a normal engineering job We are pioneers, not corporate managers. Icarus deliberately optimizes for a high signal (engineers) to noise (management) ratio, where engineering, flight, and execution matter more than process, politics, or management overhead You will work side by side with the CEO and a small team of world-class builders. You will own your subsystem end to end. Design it. Build it. Break it. Fix it. Validate it in the desert. Fly it. Then do it again, faster We expect full extreme ownership. This is a high-trust, no-BS team, and everyone pulls their weight We are hiring across the stack: mechanical, aerodynamics, RF, GNC, electrical, avionics, power electronics, energy storage, software, and systems We want builders. No hand-holding. No fluff. No fake projects. No slide decks. No sitting in meetings all day. Just raw engineering, real hardware, and real flight You must thrive under pressure, learn fast, troubleshoot in the field, and push hardware to its limits. We move fast. We go to Mojave at 4 am in the morning. We expect results and an obsession with quality and speed You will be a core executor of flight hardware, taking systems from concept to reality and driving rapid iteration loops. You will work across avionics, power electronics, energy storage, integration, and production bring-up. If you want real ownership, real hardware, and real flight milestones, this is it No tourists. No bystanders. Only builders.

Icarus was founded on the belief that the Stratosphere is the Forgotten Frontier and that reclaiming it will define the next era of aerospace and what is possible from the sky. We build solar-powered aircraft that fly at 60,000 ft for weeks at a time, delivering persistent, affordable, and scalable presence from this layer of the atmosphere. Mission Re-establish and maintain dominance in the Stratosphere. What you’ll do Own the manufacturing and production of flight hardware from prototype through low-rate and scaled production Design and improve build processes for airframes, avionics, power systems, and integration Develop tooling, fixtures, work instructions, and quality checks that enable speed and repeatability Partner with design engineers to make hardware more manufacturable, reliable, and scalable Drive root-cause analysis and corrective actions on build and test issues Support integration, environmental testing, and flight operations Help stand up production capabilities inside our El Segundo factory What we’re looking for 2+ years working as a manufacturing, production, or build engineer on real hardware Hands-on experience building mechanical, electrical, or aerospace systems Strong intuition for tolerances, processes, and how things actually get built Experience working closely with design engineering teams Ability to move fast, own outcomes, and solve problems on the factory floor Comfort operating in ambiguous, fast-moving environments Why Icarus Meaningful equity Top market salary and bonuses Health, dental, and vision insurance Factory in El Segundo Real ownership, real hardware, real flight Small team, massive responsibility High signal (engineering) to noise (management) culture Dream desk setup Daily lunch Unlimited celsius This is not a normal engineering job We are pioneers, not corporate managers. Icarus deliberately optimizes for a high signal (engineers) to noise (management) ratio, where engineering, flight, and execution matter more than process, politics, or management overhead You will work side by side with the CEO and a small team of world-class builders. You will own your subsystem end to end. Design it. Build it. Break it. Fix it. Validate it in the desert. Fly it. Then do it again, faster We expect full extreme ownership. This is a high-trust, no-BS team, and everyone pulls their weight We are hiring across the stack: mechanical, aerodynamics, RF, GNC, electrical, avionics, power electronics, energy storage, software, and systems We want builders. No hand-holding. No fluff. No fake projects. No slide decks. No sitting in meetings all day. Just raw engineering, real hardware, and real flight You must thrive under pressure, learn fast, troubleshoot in the field, and push hardware to its limits. We move fast. We go to Mojave at 4 am in the morning. We expect results and an obsession with quality and speed You will be a core executor of flight hardware, taking systems from concept to reality and driving rapid iteration loops. You will work across avionics, power electronics, energy storage, integration, and production bring-up. If you want real ownership, real hardware, and real flight milestones, this is it No tourists. No bystanders. Only builders.

Icarus was founded on the belief that the Stratosphere is the Forgotten Frontier and that reclaiming it will define the next era of aerospace and what is possible from the sky. We build solar-powered aircraft that fly at 60,000 ft for weeks at a time, delivering persistent, affordable, and scalable presence from this layer of the atmosphere. Mission Re-establish and maintain dominance in the Stratosphere. What you’ll do Design and fly lightweight, high-reliability structures for stratospheric aircraft Own mechanical subsystems from concept to flight Perform first-principles sizing, trade studies, and rapid iteration Build, test, break, and refine flight hardware Support integration, production, and flight operations Work closely with avionics, GNC, power, RF, and software teams What we’re looking for 2+ years designing, analyzing, or building real mechanical hardware Strong fundamentals in structures, materials, and first-principles engineering Experience with lightweight structures, composites, sheet metal, or bonded assemblies Comfortable moving fast, owning outcomes, and working hands-on in the factory and field Why Icarus Meaningful equity Top market salary and bonuses Health, dental, and vision insurance Factory in El Segundo Real ownership, real hardware, real flight Small team, massive responsibility High signal (engineering) to noise (management) culture Dream desk setup Daily lunch Unlimited celsius This is not a normal engineering job We are pioneers, not corporate managers. Icarus deliberately optimizes for a high signal (engineers) to noise (management) ratio, where engineering, flight, and execution matter more than process, politics, or management overhead You will work side by side with the CEO and a small team of world-class builders. You will own your subsystem end to end. Design it. Build it. Break it. Fix it. Validate it in the desert. Fly it. Then do it again, faster We expect full extreme ownership. This is a high-trust, no-BS team, and everyone pulls their weight We are hiring across the stack: mechanical, aerodynamics, RF, GNC, electrical, avionics, power electronics, energy storage, software, and systems We want builders. No hand-holding. No fluff. No fake projects. No slide decks. No sitting in meetings all day. Just raw engineering, real hardware, and real flight You must thrive under pressure, learn fast, troubleshoot in the field, and push hardware to its limits. We move fast. We go to Mojave at 4 am in the morning. We expect results and an obsession with quality and speed You will be a core executor of flight hardware, taking systems from concept to reality and driving rapid iteration loops. You will work across avionics, power electronics, energy storage, integration, and production bring-up. If you want real ownership, real hardware, and real flight milestones, this is it No tourists. No bystanders. Only builders.

Icarus was founded on the belief that the Stratosphere is the Forgotten Frontier and that reclaiming it will define the next era of aerospace and what is possible from the sky. We build solar-powered aircraft that fly at 60,000 ft for weeks at a time, delivering persistent, affordable, and scalable presence from this layer of the atmosphere. Mission Re-establish and maintain dominance in the Stratosphere. What you’ll do Design, build, and fly RF and communications systems for long-endurance stratospheric aircraft Own RF subsystems end to end: architecture, link budgets, component selection, integration, test, and flight validation Design and integrate radios, antennas, RF front ends, and data links for LOS and BLOS operation Drive RF performance through analysis, simulation, bench testing, and flight data Lead EMI/EMC mitigation across avionics, power, and payload systems Work closely with avionics, GNC, electrical, mechanical, and software teams to deliver robust flight communications Support integration, production bring-up, and flight operations in the desert What we’re looking for 2+ years designing and deploying real RF systems for aerospace, defense, UAVs, or similarly demanding environments Strong fundamentals in RF theory, electromagnetics, and communications systems Experience with link budgets, antenna design or selection, RF propagation, and system-level trade studies Hands-on experience with RF test equipment (spectrum analyzers, VNAs, signal generators, power meters) Experience debugging RF systems in the field, not just in simulation Comfort working from first principles and validating performance through test and flight data Ability to move fast, own outcomes, and operate with minimal supervision Why Icarus Meaningful equity Top market salary and bonuses Health, dental, and vision insurance Factory in El Segundo Real ownership, real hardware, real flight Small team, massive responsibility High signal (engineering) to noise (management) culture Dream desk setup Daily lunch Unlimited celsius This is not a normal engineering job We are pioneers, not corporate managers. Icarus deliberately optimizes for a high signal (engineers) to noise (management) ratio, where engineering, flight, and execution matter more than process, politics, or management overhead You will work side by side with the CEO and a small team of world-class builders. You will own your subsystem end to end. Design it. Build it. Break it. Fix it. Validate it in the desert. Fly it. Then do it again, faster We expect full extreme ownership. This is a high-trust, no-BS team, and everyone pulls their weight We are hiring across the stack: mechanical, aerodynamics, RF, GNC, electrical, avionics, power electronics, energy storage, software, and systems We want builders. No hand-holding. No fluff. No fake projects. No slide decks. No sitting in meetings all day. Just raw engineering, real hardware, and real flight You must thrive under pressure, learn fast, troubleshoot in the field, and push hardware to its limits. We move fast. We go to Mojave at 4 am in the morning. We expect results and an obsession with quality and speed You will be a core executor of flight hardware, taking systems from concept to reality and driving rapid iteration loops. You will work across avionics, power electronics, energy storage, integration, and production bring-up. If you want real ownership, real hardware, and real flight milestones, this is it No tourists. No bystanders. Only builders.