Senior Forward Deployed Engineer
Icarus
<p>Icarus was founded on the belief that the Stratosphere is the <a href="https://henryicarus.substack.com/p/the-forgotten-frontier?utm_campaign=post&amp;utm_medium=web&amp;triedRedirect=true"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ee;">Forgotten Frontier</span></strong></a>&nbsp;and that reclaiming it will define the next era of aerospace and what is possible from the sky. We build solar-powered aircraft that fly at 60,000 ft for weeks at a time, delivering persistent, affordable, and scalable presence from this layer of the atmosphere.</p> <h2 style="color: #0000ee;">Mission</h2> <p>Re-establish and maintain dominance in the Stratosphere.</p> <h2 style="color: #0000ee;">What you’ll do</h2> <ul> <li>Deploy forward with our aircraft and ground systems to test ranges, airfields, and customer environments, and own getting them set up and operational.</li> <li>Provide end-to-end field support: system setup, software and hardware configuration, integration with site infrastructure, and pre-deployment checkout.</li> <li>Troubleshoot hardware, software, and networking issues in real time, in unstructured environments, and drive them to resolution.</li> <li>Own flight test campaigns, demonstrations, and exercises in the field, with high autonomy and minimal support.</li> <li>Train and guide operators and customers on how to run our systems and get the most out of them.</li> <li>Be the link between the field and engineering: capture flight data, ground truth, and operator feedback, run incident reviews, and feed clear, specific recommendations back into the product.</li> <li>Build and grow the forward-deployed function: the people, procedures, runbooks, and standards that keep our aircraft flying for weeks at a time in support of our customers.</li> <li>Work closely with mechanical, GNC, RF, and software teams.</li> </ul> <h2 style="color: #0000ee;">What we’re looking for</h2> <ul> <li>2+ years supporting, deploying, or operating real hardware systems in the field (aerospace, defense, robotics, autonomy, or hardware startups).</li> <li>Strong hands-on troubleshooting across hardware, software, and networking. You're comfortable with tools, cables, configs, and the command line, and you stay calm when something breaks far from home.</li> <li>Practical technical range over deep specialization: comfortable with networking fundamentals and software/hardware setup and configuration. You don't need to be the deepest engineer in any one discipline — you need to make the whole system work in the field, and help others do the same.</li> <li>A track record of operating independently in ambiguous, high-pressure environments, and of bringing structure where there was none.</li> <li>Strong communication skills. You can work with engineers, operators, and customers, and translate between them.</li> <li>Willingness to travel frequently and operate out of test ranges, airfields, and remote locations for extended periods.</li> <li>This is a hands-on hardware and field role, not a desk software job.</li> <li>Military operations experience is a plus, especially in aviation or aviation-adjacent communities with "air sense" (JTAC, JFO, CCT, ATC, aviation operations).</li> </ul> <h2 style="color: #0000ee;">Why Icarus</h2> <ol> <li>Meaningful equity</li> <li>Top market salary and bonuses</li> <li>Health, dental, and vision insurance</li> <li>Factory in El Segundo</li> <li>Real ownership, real hardware, real flight</li> <li>Small team, massive responsibility&l