Hardware Engineer
Who We Are:
Aurelius Systems is a VC backed defense tech startup building autonomous, edge deployed directed energy systems for counter-UAS. We build laser weapons to shoot down drones.
We're a small team of ~10 engineers, former US military operators, and subject matter experts scaling America's directed energy dominance. The first cost effective, reliable and robust laser weapon system.
Our namesake isn't an accident. Marcus Aurelius wrote about doing the work in front of you, every day, without excuses. Henry Ford didn't wait for permission to reinvent manufacturing. That's how we operate — small team, unreasonable output, no hiding behind the unachievable.
In addition to our San Francisco lab, we opened our Detroit manufacturing hub and field test weekly on our own 400-acre private range.
If you are the kind of engineer who'd rather see your work on a range than in a lab, read on.
The Role and Your Impact:
We need a Hardware Engineer who can own structural and thermal design for a laser weapon system being built from scratch. You'll run FEA, develop thermal solutions, and drive prototype validation. This isn't a simulation role. You'll be in the lab building things, in the field breaking them, and back at the bench fixing them.
Concept through production. Hands on the whole way.
What You'll Own:
Develop and validate thermal solutions — passive and active — for high power laser modules including conjugate heat transfer and transient thermal simulations
Perform stress, vibration, and modal analyses using ANSYS, SolidWorks Simulation, or equivalent and use results to optimize designs for durability, weight, and dynamic loads
Create and refine CAD models for thermal management and structural prototypes
Drive hands on prototyping via CNC, additive, or rapid fabrication with an extreme bias toward testing. This includes plan and execute vibration, shock, environmental, and robustness tests under real field conditions
Conduct DFM reviews to optimize geometry, tolerances, and material selection and work directly with suppliers and fabricators to get designs into production
Evaluate metals, polymers, and composites for mechanical strength, thermal conductivity, and EMI compatibility
Generate BOMs, GD&T drawings, and assembly instructions and oversee prototype-to-production transition in compliance with MIL-STD and ITAR requirements
Partner with optics, electronics, firmware, and controls teams during system assembly, integration, and field testing on our range
What We're Looking For:
2 to 8 years in mechanical or hardware engineering in defense, aerospace, or a related field
Expert in CAD — SolidWorks, Creo, or similar
Strong FEA background — ANSYS, SolidWorks Simulation
Thermal analysis experience with CFD and heat transfer software
Hands on mechanical prototyping and test fixture development
Experience planning and executing vibration, shock, and environmental testing
Solid foundation in materials science, stress analysis, and manufacturing methods
Where you probably come from: aerospace structures, defense hardware, robotics, EV thermal systems, or any program where you owned hardware from design through field validation.
We want to talk if: You've taken a mechanical system from CAD to field test, you've broken your own hardware and fixed it faster the second time, and you think in failure modes before the first prototype is built.
Not a fit if: Your experience is primarily simulation and analysis with limited hands-on build and test time, or you've never supported field testing of real hardware.
Nice to Haves:
Vacuum or environmental chamber testing experience
Familiarity with laser safety standards and optical alignment fixtures
Background in EMI/EMC design and shielding
Security clearance or ITAR compliance experience
Education:
BS or MS in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related field. What you've built matters more than where you went to school.
How You Operate:
Extreme bias for action. You'd rather build a prototype tomorrow than model it for a month
You characterize your own systems before the field does
Comfortable with ambiguity and fast iteration in a startup environment
You debug from first principles, not intuition alone
Clear communicator across mechanical, electrical, optical, and software teams
Self directed. You identify what needs to happen next and do it without being told
Why Join Aurelius Systems:
Build more in 1 month than most engineers build in 1 year. We field test weekly. Your work goes downrange, not into a filing cabinet.
Career velocity is real. At ~10 engineers, there are no layers between you and impact.
Work on a problem that actually matters. Small cheap drones are changing warfare. Our laser systems are the asymmetric answer — infinite magazine, near zero cost per shot, scalable to every base, border, facility, and truck.
Join the densest defense startup ecosystem in the country. California is where the next generation of defense companies are being built.
How We Work:
Core hours are Monday through Friday, 9 to 6. When we're sprinting toward a demo or field test, the team ramps up — nights, weekends, whatever it takes to ship. When the sprint lands, we ramp down. We don't manufacture intensity for show. If you've worked at SpaceX, against a mission-critical timeline, or on a racing team, you already know the rhythm.
Benefits:
Competitive salary and equity
United Health Care medical, dental, and vision coverage
Flexible 18 days PTO plus 5 sick days
Travel to field test events and range days
Covered daily lunches and office snacks and drinks
E-bike and scooter stipend up to $500
Direct access to leadership and real ownership over your work
Export Control Notice:
This role requires access to export-controlled information or items that require U.S. Person status. As defined by U.S. law, individuals who are any one of the following are considered to be a U.S. Person: (1) U.S. citizens, (2) legal permanent residents (a.k.a. green card holders), and (3) certain protected classes of asylees and refugees, as defined in 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3).
Don't Check Every Box:
We care more about what you've built and broken than how your resume reads. If you thrive in environments where the answer isn't in the textbook, we want to hear from you.