{"id":1891896,"url":"https://alion.io/job/impact-drones-autonomy-engineer-interceptor-drones","title":"Autonomy Engineer, Interceptor Drones","company":{"id":3779986,"name":"IMPACT Drones","domain":"impact-drones.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/impact-drones","size_band":"501-1000","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Work at a Startup","truth_index":null},"role":"Industrial Engineering","role_family":"Industrial Engineering","seniority":"junior","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["San Francisco, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":130000,"max":170000,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":170000},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":1,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":true,"technologies":[{"name":"AWS","optional":false},{"name":"C++","optional":false},{"name":"Computer Vision","optional":false},{"name":"Linux","optional":false},{"name":"Python","optional":false},{"name":"ArduPilot","optional":true},{"name":"Betaflight","optional":true}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-10-05T05:35:46Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-10-05","last_verified_at":"2026-10-09T03:04:43Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":3,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":3},"description":"We are Jasper and Alessandro, the founders of Impact Drones (YC S26). We are hiring an autonomy engineer to make our interceptor drones fly the intercept on their own: from a radar track, to the onboard camera, to a hit or a net catch.\nIn March 2026, Iranian drones struck three AWS data centers in the UAE and Bahrain. Fiber-optic FPV drones cannot be jammed. The only thing that stops them is a physical intercept. That is what we build.\nAbout Impact Drones\nWe sell Air Defense as a Service to civilian critical infrastructure. One container on site senses, decides and launches our interceptors: HUNTER, a kinetic quadcopter in combat in Ukraine against Shahed-class drones; WEAVER, which catches drones intact in a net; and SABLE, our turbojet interceptor. We integrate radars and own the software. First LOIs signed with defense and data-center customers.\nWhat you will own\nAutonomous flight on HUNTER, WEAVER and SABLE: navigation, guidance and control.\nOnboard target detection and tracking with EO and thermal cameras.\nSimulation and flight tests that prove each change before it flies.\nWhat you bring\nGuidance, navigation or control code you wrote that flew on a real vehicle.\nStrong C++ on embedded or real-time systems.\nSolid GNC and state estimation fundamentals.\nYou debug from flight logs, not only from simulation.\nBonus points\nYou fly FPV, and have worked in PX4, ArduPilot or Betaflight source.\nComputer vision on embedded hardware.\nInterceptor, missile or counter-UAS experience.\nCompensation\nBase salary: $130,000 to $170,000 per year.\nEquity: 0.25% to 0.45%, 4-year vesting with a 1-year cliff.\nWhere we work\nOn-site in San Francisco, CA, with regular flight testing at outdoor ranges.\nHow to apply\nApply here on Work at a Startup. Put one line at the top of your resume: the best guidance, control or autonomy result you flew, with a link if you can share it. We read every application ourselves.\nJasper and Alessandro\nThis role may involve technical data subject to U.S. export controls (ITAR and EAR). Applicants must be U.S. persons or eligible for any required export authorization.\nImpact Drones is an equal opportunity employer. We consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records in line with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance.","description_format":"text","description_chars":2277,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":1,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":null,"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":["Equity"],"hiring_locations":[{"name":"United States","iso":"US","kind":"country"},{"name":"Ukraine","iso":"UA","kind":"country"}],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Military","Air Defense"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-10-05T05:35:46Z"}],"visa":[],"liveness":{"score":86,"band":"hot","label":"Hiring now","p_open":1,"p_active":0.86,"p_room":1,"age_days":3,"expected_fill_days":23,"reasons":["conf:2","win:early","comp:junior"],"computed_at":"2026-10-08T05:49:30Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":170000,"is_top_pay":true},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/impact-drones-autonomy-engineer-interceptor-drones","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/impact-drones-autonomy-engineer-interceptor-drones.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-09T03:16:43Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":1761,"day_limit":5000,"remaining_today":3239,"minute_limit":60,"resets_at":"2026-10-10T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":3779986},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=3779986"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fimpact-drones-autonomy-engineer-interceptor-drones"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fimpact-drones-autonomy-engineer-interceptor-drones"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fimpact-drones-autonomy-engineer-interceptor-drones"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/impact-drones-autonomy-engineer-interceptor-drones\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fimpact-drones-autonomy-engineer-interceptor-drones"}]}