Senior Electrical Engineer

Job description

At Elroy Air, we build autonomous vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) cargo drones to change the way the world moves goods. Transporting cargo by air is faster and more direct than by land or sea, but it has been prohibitively expensive for medium-size loads. We've set out to expand middle-mile logistics possibilities across multiple sectors, with our sights on a $420Bn global total addressable market for cargo logistics across defense, commercial and rapid response. We are a team of builders, engineers, and operators who believe that the defense, commercial, and rapid response communities need faster, better logistics solutions. We are seeing increasing demand as customers and prospects respond enthusiastically to the systems we’ve built. As we mature and deploy our offerings, we are looking for people like you: motivated collaborators, enthusiastic about our mission and ready to roll up their sleeves and make a big impact to improve how logistics works around the world. You will play an important role in establishing the Elroy Air Chaparral as the industry standard in this massive market. We believe diverse perspectives at all levels of the organization are critical to innovation and employee development. This includes but is not limited to gender identity, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender expression, religion, age, ability, parenthood status, veteran status, educational background, citizenship status, or any combination of these characteristics. The Senior Electrical Engineer at Elroy Air will be responsible for the continued development and testing of Chaparral, our hybrid electric VTOL cargo aircraft. The responsibilities will include modifying existing designs, bench testing, flight testing, and troubleshooting our hybrid electric powertrain and electrical systems. You will be involved in the high-voltage power train, electrical systems, harnesses, and testing. This role requires a balance of high-level engineering and hands-on ability to execute tasks across multiple disciplines as we advance the future of middle-mile logistics. ### Responsibilities - **Iron Bird Development:** Take charge of the electrical layout, wiring, and assembly of the aircraft’s Iron Bird ground test platform. This skeletal replica of the aircraft’s avionics and power train serves as a non-flying ground test platform. Run tests and analyze data on flight-representative subsystems, wire harnesses, and actuators. - **Powertrain:** Build, test, and iterate on the hybrid-electric powertrain architecture, including the turbine powerplant, generators, high-voltage motors and battery pack integrations. - **High Voltage and Power Distribution:** Build, Test, and iterate on the high-voltage distribution network, ensuring strict safety isolation, grounding, EMI/EMC mitigation, and circuit protection. Systematically solve observed issues, propose and implement solutions in collaboration with our multidisciplinary team. - **Hands-on Harnessing:** Layout, build, and rework complex aerospace-grade wire harnesses. Select connectors, shielding, and routing paths optimized for SWaP-C. - **Test and Flight Validation:** Define and implement electrical testing strategies. Perform comprehensive test plans, design and build test fixtures, conduct hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing, and support ground and flight test operations. - **Cross Disciplinary Collaboration:** Act as the primary point of contact for electrical considerations, collaborating with mechanical, software, flight test, and systems engineering to rapidly bridge gaps between hardware and software. - **Safety and Compliance:** Ensure that system testing is conducted safely and implement risk mitigation strategies. Verify that electrical designs adhere to safety standards, participate in safety reviews, and maintain clear documentation to support FAA certification pathways. ### Our Ideal Candidate - Bachelor’s degree or higher in Electrical Engineering or a related field - 5+ years of professional engineering experience, ideally in a fast-paced startup, or small team environment - Proven track record with electric vehicles, eVTOL, or aerospace powertrain and high-voltage DC distribution development - Extensive experience debugging and using lab equipment like oscilloscopes and spectrum analyzers - Proficiency in electrical CAD tools for schematic capture, layout, and wire harness design - Demonstrated ability to self manage competing priorities, self-directed tasks, and solve ambiguous problems ### Bonus Points For - Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering or a related field - 8+ years of experience in electrical systems design for autonomous systems or VTOL aircraft - Experience with hybrid propulsion systems - Familiarity with aerospace certification frameworks or guidelines - Hands-on experience with flight testing and data analysis using Python or MATLAB ### What We Offer: - Competitive salary - Equity ownership in a rapidly growing advanced aerospace company - Comprehensive medical benefits - 401(k) with company contribution + Roth IRA - Free daily lunch provided onsite - Flexible time-off policy - 3 months of paid parental leave - Employee assistance program with 24/7 support - High-impact startup environment with significant ownership and autonomy - Opportunities for rapid career growth and internal advancement - You’ll work with a motivated, kind, and highly skilled team - You'll help shape and define our company culture and values - You'll help build and scale a new category of aerospace / logistics technology