Payload Integration Engineer
Why the Stratosphere?
From first principles, it is the obvious place to build. Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites move rapidly hundreds of kilometers above Earth. Our vision is an autonomous solar-powered bird operating around 20 kilometers, or 65,000 ft, above most clouds and weather. Much closer to Earth. Persistent by flying in circles. Effectively a Cell Tower in the Sky. That persistence is priceless. That is the promise of Skylink.
Start small. Build upward.
The first product of Icarus is a small, affordable solar-powered Stratospheric bird. A platform designed to be light, simple, and built under constraints. Affordability is the foundation. More importantly, it solves a real use case now. A wedge into the market through intelligence and communications. A beachhead that proves the model, attracts customers who need it so badly they’ll use it even before it’s perfect, and opens the path to market disruption at scale.
The vision: Skylink
The vision goes further than building one plane or even one fleet. The goal is Skylink: a persistent Stratospheric grid delivering continuous intelligence, uninterrupted communications, and global connectivity. A new layer of infrastructure. The next backbone of how we see, sense, and connect the world.
Our mission at Icarus is to re-establish and maintain dominance in the Stratosphere. We asked ourselves: what is the fastest and best way to execute this? The answer was not to start with a massive, billion-dollar program. It was to start with affordable birds, scale endurance step by step, and build upward into Skylink.
The Payload Integration Engineer owns end-to-end integration of small payloads onto Icarus aircraft. You turn mission needs into clear requirements, determine which payloads belong on the aircraft, and take them from concept through installation, ground test, and flight test. Mission fit comes first. If a payload does not meet the requirements, you make that clear and recommend the right go/no-go decision.
Reports to: Avionics Lead
Mission
Re-establish and maintain dominance in the Stratosphere.
Levels
We are hiring at Level I, Level II, and Level III through this posting. Your level will be determined during the interview process based on your technical skills, relevant experience, and demonstrated scope of ownership.
What you’ll do
- Translate mission requirements into payload and interface requirements across mechanical, electrical, power, and data/comms systems.
- Evaluate and down-select candidate payloads for mission fit, and recommend go/no-go.
- Own integration from concept through design, installation, ground test, and flight test.
- Work closely with electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and product to define interfaces and resolve integration issues.
- Maintain interface control documents and integration plans, and verify that requirements are met.
What we’re looking for
- Evidence that you can translate a mission need into clear, testable requirements.
- Hands-on integration ability across mechanical, electrical, power, and data interfaces.
- Sound engineering judgment when evaluating payload tradeoffs and mission fit.
- Ability to own integration issues through design, installation, testing, and verification.
- Clear technical documentation and communication across engineering and product teams.
Why Icarus
- Meaningful equity
- Top market salary and bonuses
- Health, dental, and vision insurance
- Factory in El Segundo
- Real ownership, real hardware, real flight
- Small team, massive responsibility
- High signal (engineering) to noise (management) culture
- Dream desk setup
- Daily lunch
- Unlimited celsius
This is not a normal engineering job
We are pioneers, not corporate managers. Engineering, flight, and execution matter more than process, politics, or management overhead. You will own your work end to end: define it, build it, test it, fix it, and prove it in flight. We expect extreme ownership, clear judgment, and an obsession with quality and speed.
No tourists. No bystanders. Only builders.
Hiring process
- Phone screen with the hiring manager via Microsoft Teams
- Onsite presentation and panel Q&A
US salary range
- Level I: $100,000 - $140,000 USD per year
- Level II: $140,000 - $180,000 USD per year
- Level III: $180,000 - $220,000 USD per year
These ranges reflect annual base salary. Final level and base salary will be determined individually based on relevant skills, experience, and the scope of responsibility. The salary range for this role is an estimate based on a wide range of compensation factors, inclusive of base salary only. Actual salary may vary based on (but not limited to) work experience, education and/or training, critical skills, and/or business considerations. Highly competitive equity grants are considered part of Icarus' total compensation package.
We’re an equal opportunity employer. We welcome all applicants without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.
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