Senior Mechanical Engineer

Job description

Skyways designs, builds, and operates fully autonomous long-range cargo aircraft. Founded in 2017, the company has spent the last eight years developing and deploying autonomous logistics systems for real-world operations. Our V2 aircraft carries 30 lbs up to 500 miles, while our next-generation V3 carries 100 lbs over 1,000+ miles with 20+ hours of endurance. Both use a hybrid-electric architecture that takes off like a helicopter and cruises like a plane, enabling long-range autonomous delivery without traditional runway infrastructure. Today, Skyways aircraft operate across three continents in controlled national airspace under FAA oversight and in support of U.S. military operations. We are transitioning from prototype development to full-rate production and scaling toward large autonomous cargo fleets. Backed by Y Combinator and a $37M AFWERX STRATFI award from the U.S. Air Force, Skyways is creating a new form of transportation to advance our civilization from Austin, Texas. **The Opportunity** This role owns critical aircraft hardware from concept through flight. You will design, build, test, and iterate on mechanical systems that directly impact aircraft performance, manufacturability, and operational reliability. The work spans structural design, mechanisms, integration, and rapid hardware development across autonomous aircraft platforms. You will work closely with electrical, manufacturing, flight test, and operations teams to move quickly from design concepts to flight-ready hardware. The role requires strong engineering judgment, hands-on execution, and the ability to solve difficult problems in fast-moving development environments. The ideal candidate has experience developing complex mechanical systems for aerospace, robotics, automotive, or other high-performance hardware platforms and is comfortable owning hardware through the full product lifecycle. ### What You'll Do: - Design and develop aircraft structures, mechanisms, and integrated mechanical systems - Create CAD models, drawings, and release documentation for production hardware - Mentor junior mechanical engineers and raise the design and review bar across the team through your own example - Perform mechanical analysis, tolerance studies, and design tradeoff evaluations - Support prototype builds, aircraft integration, and flight test activities - Work closely with manufacturing teams to improve manufacturability and assembly processes - Troubleshoot hardware issues identified during build, integration, and flight operations - Collaborate across electrical, software, manufacturing, and flight teams to deliver integrated systems - Support rapid design iteration and engineering changes as aircraft systems evolve ### What You'll Bring: - Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or related field - 5+ years of experience designing and developing complex mechanical systems - Strong CAD experience, preferably in SolidWorks or similar tools - Experience taking hardware from concept through prototyping, testing, and production - Strong understanding of structural design, materials, and manufacturing processes - Hands-on experience with hardware integration, testing, and troubleshooting - Ability to make practical engineering tradeoffs under schedule and operational constraints - Strong communication and cross-functional collaboration skills ### Bonus Points: - Experience with aerospace, UAV, robotics, or autonomous systems - Experience designing lightweight structures or composite assemblies - Familiarity with manufacturing processes for low-volume or rapidly iterating hardware systems - Experience supporting flight test or operational hardware deployments - Experience with FEA, GD&T, or tolerance analysis