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Head of Avionics

Oxnard, California, United States

Swarm Aero is redefining air power, building the largest swarming UAV and most versatile swarming aircraft network in the world. The company is moving quickly to launch the first aircraft designed specifically for swarming as well as the Command & Control software to mobilize swarms of thousands of heterogeneous autonomous assets and empower human operators to achieve superhuman results. 

The team has created and exited multiple startups, negotiated defense deals worth billions of dollars and designed and built 30+ novel aircraft, with aerospace experience from Scaled Composites, Airbus, Archer Aviation, Blue Origin, and Boom Supersonic. 

The Role

We're looking for a Head of Avionics who has genuinely built complex avionics systems, not managed programs or reviewed other people's work, but gotten their hands into the architecture, made hard tradeoffs, and shipped something real. You'll own the avionics stack end-to-end: hardware architecture, embedded systems, sensing, networking, autonomy integration, and the test infrastructure to verify all of it. You'll be a technical leader and a hands-on contributor, setting the direction while staying deep enough to know when something is wrong.

This is a zero-to-one role. If you're looking for a well-defined org with established processes, this isn't it. If you want to define the architecture of the most capable autonomous aircraft system ever built, keep reading.

What You'll Own

  • Architect the full avionics stack for large uncrewed aircraft, from hardware selection through system integration
  • Design and build embedded systems across real-time and non-real-time environments, both airborne and ground-side
  • Drive development of autonomy, novel sensing, and networking capabilities that enable swarm-scale operations
  • Build and own the hardware and software-in-the-loop test infrastructure for avionics validation
  • Be the technical authority on avionics across the company, setting standards, catching problems early, and making calls

What We're Looking For

  • 10+ years in embedded systems, avionics, or closely related fields
  • You've architected and shipped a real avionics or embedded system, not just contributed to one
  • Deep fluency in embedded hardware constraints, toolchains, and design tradeoffs
  • Strong instincts around high-assurance systems and what it takes to make them certifiable
  • Clear communicator across disciplines, you can talk to a mechanical engineer and a software architect in the same afternoon and be useful to both

Bonus Points

  • Hands-on experience with a major microcontroller or microprocessor family, not just familiarity
  • Background in robotics, autonomous systems, or aerial platforms
  • Experience with reverse-engineering, network routing, MOSA components, or hardware security modules
  • You've operated in a fast-moving startup environment and know how to make good decisions with incomplete information

What We Offer

  • $200,000 $300,000 base + meaningful equity in a high-growth defense tech company
  • Comprehensive benefits: medical, dental, vision, 401k
  • Paid parental leave, PTO, paid sick time
  • Monthly wellness stipend + daily catered lunch
  • A direct leadership role in building critical national security technology
  • A world-class team that will push you and that you'll push back

As part of our commitment to maintaining a safe and trustworthy work environment, Swarm Aero conducts a thorough screening of prospective employees. Candidates will be subject to a comprehensive background verification process as a prerequisite for employment.

To conform to U.S. Government controlled technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

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