Chief Drone Engineer

Drone Chief, company-wide technical authority 15+ years

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Anduril

Skydio

Shield AI

Zipline

DJI

AeroVironment

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The job description

Tech stack. UAS enterprise architecture, technology strategy, certification and airworthiness, M&A technical diligence, executive leadership, industry partnerships, engineering culture

About the role

You will join a drone technology company as its chief technical authority for unmanned aircraft: the person accountable for the technical excellence of everything that flies under the company's name. You set the engineering vision, approve architectures, and represent the company's technical credibility to customers, regulators, and the board. This is the role where technical judgment becomes company strategy, and where the engineering culture you build outlasts any single product. You will own the company's intellectual property strategy for core UAS technology, deciding what to patent, what to publish, and what to keep as trade secret, and you will serve as the final technical escalation point when programs face risks that threaten delivery or safety.

What you will achieve

Set the company-wide technical vision for UAS products, aligning R&D investment, platform strategy, and market opportunities into one coherent plan.
Approve major architecture decisions across programs, ensuring technical coherence while managing enterprise-level risk honestly.
Build and sustain world-class engineering capability by setting hiring bars, growing technical leaders, and deliberately shaping engineering culture.
Win strategic customers and partnerships through technical credibility in executive-level and government engagements.
Guide certification and airworthiness strategy, positioning the company's products for regulated markets and large-scale commercial operations.

What you will bring

Must-haves

15+ years of experience in unmanned aircraft, aerospace, or robotics with a record of shipped products and technical leadership at significant scale.
Demonstrated company-wide technical authority: architectures, platforms, or standards that defined an organization's products across teams.
Track record of building and leading large engineering organizations through growth phases and increasing technical complexity.
Deep judgment across the full UAS stack, from aerodynamics and structures through autonomy, software, and certification.
Experience engaging regulators, major customers, and boards of directors on technical strategy and risk.
History of developing senior technical leaders and sustaining high-performance engineering cultures over multiple years.
Bachelor's degree in engineering; advanced degree preferred.

Nice-to-haves

Industry recognition such as standards committee leadership, keynote-level visibility, or landmark program leadership.
Experience with M&A technical diligence or building capability through acquisition.
Background spanning both commercial and defense UAS markets with successful outcomes in each.
Experience advising investors or boards on deep-tech strategy.