Founding Engineer, Robotics and Flight Software
Confirmed on the employer's own hiring board on Oct 5, 2026. First seen by Alion on Oct 5, 2026.
We are Jasper and Alessandro, the founders of Impact Drones (YC S26). We are hiring our founding engineer: the person who owns the software that decides, launches and guides an interceptor when a hostile drone comes for a data center, a refinery, an airport or a power grid.
In 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.
About Impact Drones
We 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.
What you will own
- Our response software: the path from a radar track to an interceptor in the air.
- Flight software on HUNTER and WEAVER.
- Container integration: sensors, launch bays and the operator screen.
- Field testing at the range, and the call on what is ready to fly.
- Hiring and leading the next engineers.
What you bring
- Software you shipped onto real hardware that flew, not only in simulation.
- Strong C++ (or Rust) on embedded or real-time systems, plus Python.
- Depth in flight software, robotics or embedded systems.
- Field tests you ran yourself, and the fixes that came out of them.
Bonus points
- You fly FPV or build quads, and have worked in PX4, ArduPilot or Betaflight.
- Counter-UAS, defense or aerospace experience.
- You have hired and led engineers.
Compensation
- Base salary: $140,000 to $180,000 per year.
- Equity: 0.5% to 1.25%, 4-year vesting with a 1-year cliff.
Where we work
On-site in San Francisco, CA, with regular field testing at outdoor ranges.
How to apply
Apply here on Work at a Startup. Put one line at the top of your resume: the hardest thing you built that flew, with a link (repo, video or flight log). We read every application ourselves.
Jasper and Alessandro
This 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.
Impact Drones is an equal opportunity employer. We consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records in line with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance.