Senior Electrical Engineer

At Elroy Air, we build autonomous vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) cargo drones to change the way the world moves goods. Transporting cargo by air is faster and more direct than by land or sea, but it has been prohibitively expensive for medium-size loads. We've set out to expand middle-mile logistics possibilities across multiple sectors, with our sights on a $420Bn global total addressable market for cargo logistics across defense, commercial and rapid response.

We are a team of builders, engineers, and operators who believe that the defense, commercial, and rapid response communities need faster, better logistics solutions. We are seeing increasing demand as customers and prospects respond enthusiastically to the systems we’ve built. As we mature and deploy our offerings, we are looking for people like you: motivated collaborators, enthusiastic about our mission and ready to roll up their sleeves and make a big impact to improve how logistics works around the world. You will play an important role in establishing the Elroy Air Chaparral as the industry standard in this massive market.

We believe diverse perspectives at all levels of the organization are critical to innovation and employee development. This includes but is not limited to gender identity, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender expression, religion, age, ability, parenthood status, veteran status, educational background, citizenship status, or any combination of these characteristics.

The Senior Electrical Engineer at Elroy Air will be responsible for the continued development and testing of Chaparral, our hybrid electric VTOL cargo aircraft. The responsibilities will include modifying existing designs, bench testing, flight testing, and troubleshooting our hybrid electric powertrain and electrical systems. You will be involved in the high-voltage power train, electrical systems, harnesses, and testing. This role requires a balance of high-level engineering and hands-on ability to execute tasks across multiple disciplines as we advance the future of middle-mile logistics.

Responsibilities

Iron Bird Development: Take charge of the electrical layout, wiring, and assembly of the aircraft’s Iron Bird ground test platform. This skeletal replica of the aircraft’s avionics and power train serves as a non-flying ground test platform. Run tests and analyze data on flight-representative subsystems, wire harnesses, and actuators.

Powertrain: Build, test, and iterate on the hybrid-electric powertrain architecture, including the turbine powerplant, generators, high-voltage motors and battery pack integrations.

High Voltage and Power Distribution: Build, Test, and iterate on the high-voltage distribution network, ensuring strict safety isolation, grounding, EMI/EMC mitigation, and circuit protection. Systematically solve observed issues, propose and implement solutions in collaboration with our multidisciplinary team.

Hands-on Harnessing: Layout, build, and rework complex aerospace-grade wire harnesses. Select connectors, shielding, and routing paths optimized for SWaP-C.

Test and Flight Validation: Define and implement electrical testing strategies. Perform comprehensive test plans, design and build test fixtures, conduct hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing, and support ground and flight test operations.

Cross Disciplinary Collaboration: Act as the primary point of contact for electrical considerations, collaborating with mechanical, software, flight test, and systems engineering to rapidly bridge gaps between hardware and software.

Safety and Compliance: Ensure that system testing is conducted safely and implement risk mitigation strategies. Verify that electrical designs adhere to safety standards, participate in safety reviews, and maintain clear documentation to support FAA certification pathways.

Our Ideal Candidate

Bachelor’s degree or higher in Electrical Engineering or a related field

5+ years of professional engineering experience, ideally in a fast-paced startup, or small team environment

Proven track record with electric vehicles, eVTOL, or aerospace powertrain and high-voltage DC distribution development

Extensive experience debugging and using lab equipment like oscilloscopes and spectrum analyzers

Proficiency in electrical CAD tools for schematic capture, layout, and wire harness design

Demonstrated ability to self manage competing priorities, self-directed tasks, and solve ambiguous problems

Bonus Points For

Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering or a related field

8+ years of experience in electrical systems design for autonomous systems or VTOL aircraft

Experience with hybrid propulsion systems

Familiarity with aerospace certification frameworks or guidelines

Hands-on experience with flight testing and data analysis using Python or MATLAB

What We Offer:

Competitive salary

Equity ownership in a rapidly growing advanced aerospace company

Comprehensive medical benefits

401(k) with company contribution + Roth IRA

Free daily lunch provided onsite

Flexible time-off policy

3 months of paid parental leave

Employee assistance program with 24/7 support

High-impact startup environment with significant ownership and autonomy

Opportunities for rapid career growth and internal advancement

You’ll work with a motivated, kind, and highly skilled team

You'll help shape and define our company culture and values

You'll help build and scale a new category of aerospace / logistics technology

We encourage you to apply even if you aren't an exact match for our open role as many of our team members come from nontraditional backgrounds.

Elroy Air is an equal opportunity employer. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected status under applicable law.

We are committed to an inclusive, harassment-free workplace and we gladly provide reasonable accommodations to support our team. Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States as a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident (green card holder). All employees will be screened through E-Verify. Elroy Air does not engage with external recruiting agencies/individual recruiters that we do not have a written agreement with and all employment activities are managed through our internal team. We reserve the right to make use of any unsolicited resumes received without being responsible for payment of any fees asserted from the use of unsolicited resumes.