Director of Hardware

At Skyways, we are building the future of air transportation with fully autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Backed by significant funding, including a $37M STRATFI contract from the U.S. Air Force, we operate at the intersection of commercial and defense markets. We have designed, built, and flown aircraft with real customers and government partners, and are now entering the next phase of the company: scaling toward production.

Based in Austin, TX and supported by top investors including Y Combinator, Skyways blends rapid iteration with real world deployment. We design, test, and operate our systems in the field, then bring those learnings directly back into engineering and product decisions. As we grow, we are looking for builders and leaders who want real ownership, technical depth, and the opportunity to help take an aircraft from successful deployments to full production.

The Opportunity

As Director of Hardware, you will own aircraft hardware execution from early design through production, test, and fielded reliability. This is a hands on leadership role with direct accountability for the physical systems that make the aircraft fly.

You will work closely with flight, software, manufacturing, and supply chain to turn designs into operational aircraft and continuously improve them in the field.

What You'll Do::
• Own aircraft hardware execution across structures, avionics, power, and system integration.
• Lead and grow the hardware engineering team with a strong emphasis on quality, accountability, and velocity.
• Make and drive critical technical decisions through design reviews, trade studies, and system integration.
• Take hardware from prototype to production with a focus on manufacturability and reliability.
• Partner closely with manufacturing, supply chain, and flight test to close the loop between design, production, and operations.
• Establish hardware standards, documentation, and test practices that scale with the fleet.
• Support certification, compliance, and customer driven requirements as programs mature.

What You'll Bring::
• Proven experience shipping complex hardware systems into production.
• Experience leading hardware teams while staying close to design and integration work.
• Strong background in avionics, aircraft systems, or tightly integrated electromechanical platforms.
• Experience with UAVs, aircraft certification environments, or defense programs.
• A track record of building hardware that performs in real operational environments.
• Comfort operating in fast moving teams with real schedule, cost, and mission constraints.
• Willingness to be on the floor, at the flight line, and in the loop when things break.

Bonus Points::
• Experience scaling hardware from early production to higher volume.
• Startup experience building teams, processes, and systems from the ground up.

Want to join our mission? Apply to learn more!

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.