Skyways2mo ago

Senior Mechanical Engineer

United States·AustinFull-timesenior

EngineeringMechanical EngineerTrades & Skilled Labor

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Quick Summary

Overview

Skyways designs, builds, and operates fully autonomous long-range cargo aircraft. We have been flying real missions with real customers since 2017. Our V2 carries 30 lbs up to 500 miles and our V3 carries 100 lbs over 1,000 miles with 20+ hours of endurance.

Technical Tools

EngineeringMechanical EngineerTrades & Skilled Labor

Skyways designs, builds, and operates fully autonomous long-range cargo aircraft. Founded in 2017, the company has spent the last eight years developing and deploying autonomous logistics systems for real-world operations.

Our V2 aircraft carries 30 lbs up to 500 miles, while our next-generation V3 carries 100 lbs over 1,000+ miles with 20+ hours of endurance. Both use a hybrid-electric architecture that takes off like a helicopter and cruises like a plane, enabling long-range autonomous delivery without traditional runway infrastructure.

Today, Skyways aircraft operate across three continents in controlled national airspace under FAA oversight and in support of U.S. military operations. We are transitioning from prototype development to full-rate production and scaling toward large autonomous cargo fleets.

Backed by Y Combinator and a $37M AFWERX STRATFI award from the U.S. Air Force, Skyways is creating a new form of transportation to advance our civilization from Austin, Texas.

The Opportunity

This role owns critical aircraft hardware from concept through flight.

You will design, build, test, and iterate on mechanical systems that directly impact aircraft performance, manufacturability, and operational reliability. The work spans structural design, mechanisms, integration, and rapid hardware development across autonomous aircraft platforms.

You will work closely with electrical, manufacturing, flight test, and operations teams to move quickly from design concepts to flight-ready hardware. The role requires strong engineering judgment, hands-on execution, and the ability to solve difficult problems in fast-moving development environments.

The ideal candidate has experience developing complex mechanical systems for aerospace, robotics, automotive, or other high-performance hardware platforms and is comfortable owning hardware through the full product lifecycle.

Design and develop aircraft structures, mechanisms, and integrated mechanical systems

Create CAD models, drawings, and release documentation for production hardware

Mentor junior mechanical engineers and raise the design and review bar across the team through your own example

Perform mechanical analysis, tolerance studies, and design tradeoff evaluations

Support prototype builds, aircraft integration, and flight test activities

Work closely with manufacturing teams to improve manufacturability and assembly processes

Troubleshoot hardware issues identified during build, integration, and flight operations

Collaborate across electrical, software, manufacturing, and flight teams to deliver integrated systems

Support rapid design iteration and engineering changes as aircraft systems evolve

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or related field

5+ years of experience designing and developing complex mechanical systems

Strong CAD experience, preferably in SolidWorks or similar tools

Experience taking hardware from concept through prototyping, testing, and production

Strong understanding of structural design, materials, and manufacturing processes

Hands-on experience with hardware integration, testing, and troubleshooting

Ability to make practical engineering tradeoffs under schedule and operational constraints

Strong communication and cross-functional collaboration skills

Experience with aerospace, UAV, robotics, or autonomous systems

Experience designing lightweight structures or composite assemblies

Familiarity with manufacturing processes for low-volume or rapidly iterating hardware systems

Experience supporting flight test or operational hardware deployments

Experience with FEA, GD&T, or tolerance analysis

Due to U.S. government contract requirements, this role is limited to U.S. citizens, U.S. permanent residents, or candidates from specific countries authorized under applicable export control regulations.

Skyways is an Equal Opportunity employer committed to diversity in the workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, protected veteran status or any other factor protected by applicable local, state or federal laws.