Aurelius Systems · San Francisco
Hardware & ElectricalEngineeringFullTime
Who We Are:
Aurelius Systems is a VC backed defense tech startup building autonomous, edge deployed directed energy systems for counter-UAS. We build laser weapons to shoot down drones.
We're a small team of engineers, former US military operators, and subject matter experts scaling America's directed energy dominance. The first cost effective, reliable and robust laser weapon system.
Our namesake isn't an accident. Marcus Aurelius wrote about doing the work in front of you, every day, without excuses. Henry Ford didn't wait for permission to reinvent manufacturing. That's how we operate — small team, unreasonable output, no hiding behind the unachievable.
In addition to our San Francisco lab, we’ve opened a Detroit manufacturing hub and we field test weekly on our own 400-acre private range.
The Role & Your Impact:
We need an Electrical Engineer who can own a wide surface area of electromechanical hardware. You won't specialize in one subsystem, you'll move across power, embedded control, wire harnesses, and integration work, wherever the team needs horsepower. That means you're soldering prototypes one day, pulling harnesses the next, and helping integrate subsystems on the range the week after.
This isn't a narrow role. It's a force multiplier position on a small team building a weapon system from scratch.
What You'll Own:
Design and build high-voltage DC/DC converters, rectifiers, inverters, and diode driver electronics (48V+ systems)
Architect and validate battery management systems from safe charge/discharge, thermal management, to fault protection for high-voltage battery packs
Build ruggedized wire harnesses for high-power laser and motor systems (connector selection, routing, environmental protection)
Drive hands-on prototyping, assembly, and field testing of power electronic systems on our range
Design embedded control electronics like microcontrollers, FPGAs, sensing, telemetry, and fault handling
Perform electrical simulations (SPICE, MATLAB/Simulink) to optimize performance before you build
Conduct DFM reviews and work directly with fabricators to get designs into production
Integrate electronics with mechanical, optical, and robotics subsystems
Generate schematics, BOMs, wiring diagrams, and documentation meeting MIL-STD and ITAR requirements
What We're Looking For:
2–5+ years working across electrical hardware from power, embedded, to systems integration
Hands-on experience with 48V+ systems. You've built and tested high-voltage circuits, not just reviewed drawings
Comfortable with embedded control electronics like microcontrollers, sensing, telemetry, and fault handling
You've designed and fabricated wire harnesses for real systems
Multi-layer PCB design, IC selection, and on-board thermal management
Proficient in Altium Designer, SPICE, and MATLAB/Simulink
Broad curiosity. You're as comfortable debugging a harness as reading a power schematic
Where you probably come from: Robotics labs, EV companies, aerospace hardware teams, defense programs, or Formula SAE Electric. You don't have to be a power specialist, but you need to have built real things at voltage.
Not a fit if: Your experience is exclusively low-voltage microcontroller or PCB work, or you've never physically built and tested hardware above 48V.
Nice-to-Haves:
Experience with laser diode driving or directed energy power systems
Background in EMI/EMC design and shielding
Familiarity with MIL-STD standards and ITAR compliance
Experience with long-duration system deployment in harsh environments
Active security clearance or ability to obtain one
Education:
BS or MS in Electrical Engineering, Power Electronics, or related field.
What you've built matters more than where you went to school.
How You Operate:
Extreme bias for action. You'd rather build a prototype tomorrow than model it for a month
Rigorous testing mindset. You characterize your own systems before the field does
Comfortable with ambiguity and fast, constantly iterating in a startup environment
Your brain only releases dopamine when you're building
You debug from first principles, not Stack Overflow
Clear communicator across mechanical, electrical, optical, and ML teams
Self-directed. You identify what needs to happen next and do it without being told
Why Join Aurelius Systems?
Build more in 1 month than most engineers build in 1 year. We field test weekly. Your work goes downrange, not into a filing cabinet.
Career velocity is real. Erick Brito went from Founding Robotics Engineer to Lead in 12 months. At ~10 engineers, there are no layers between you and impact… or between you and your next title.
Work on a problem that actually matters. Small, cheap drones are changing warfare. Our laser systems are the asymmetric answer. Think infinite magazine, cost-per-shot near zero, scalable to every base, border, facility, truck and infrastructure.
Join the densest defense startup ecosystem in the country. California is where the next generation of defense companies are being built. You'll be in the room with the people reshaping how America builds weapons.
How We Work:
Core hours are Monday through Friday, 9 to 6. When we're sprinting toward a demo or field test, the team ramps up — nights, weekends, whatever it takes to ship.
When the sprint lands, we ramp down. We don't manufacture intensity for show.
Benefits:
Competitive salary + equity
United Health Care medical, dental, and vision coverage
Flexible 18 days PTO + 5 sick days
Travel to field test events and range days
Covered daily lunches and office snacks + drinks
E-bike / scooter stipend ( Up to $500)
Direct access to leadership and real ownership over your work
Export Control Notice:
This role requires access to export-controlled information or items that require "U.S. Person" status. As defined by U.S. law, individuals who are any one of the following are considered to be a "U.S. Person": (1) U.S. citizens, (2) legal permanent residents (a.k.a. green card holders), and (3) certain protected classes of asylees and refugees, as defined in 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3).