Company Overview
Allen Control Systems (ACS) is a cutting-edge defense startup founded by two former Navy electrical engineers with a proven track record in robotics and software. We are developing an autonomous gun turret using advanced computer vision and control systems to precisely detect, track, and neutralize enemy drones.
With an engineering-first culture, ACS values technical excellence and innovation. Backed by our founders’ successful exits from two previous ventures acquired for a combined $180M in 2022, we are committed to ensuring that the groundbreaking technologies we develop will have a real-world impact.
About The Role
We are looking for an Electrical Engineering Manager to lead and grow our electrical engineering team in a fast-paced, cross-functional environment. This is a player-coach role: you will carry real technical responsibility alongside your direct reports, contributing hands-on to schematic design, layout, and hardware development while setting direction and removing obstacles for the team. You will operate comfortably in a matrix organization, partnering closely with mechanical, firmware, and systems engineering to ship hardware that performs in the field.
What You’ll Do
Lead, mentor, and grow a team of electrical engineers; manage workload, priorities, and career development across a cross-functional, matrix-style organization.
Contribute hands-on to schematic capture and PCB layout; review and approve designs across the team, maintaining high standards for quality and reliability.
Drive development across power electronics, motor drives, embedded computing, and networking subsystems
Partner with mechanical, firmware, and systems engineering to ensure electrical designs integrate cleanly across subsystems and meet program requirements.
Work with manufacturing to communicate engineering designs and intent and to find and resolve issues.
What You’ll Need
7+ years of electrical engineering experience, including direct management of electrical engineers in a fast-paced, cross-functional environment.
Hands-on experience with schematic capture and PCB layout; ability and willingness to stay technically active alongside management responsibilities.
Solid technical depth across power electronics, motor drivers, embedded computing, and networking; comfort making and defending design decisions in these domains.
Experience leading engineering in a matrix organization; strong communication and coordination skills across mechanical, firmware, and systems engineering counterparts.
Experience mentoring and developing junior electrical engineers through technical guidance, design reviews, and career development while fostering a collaborative engineering culture.
You’ll Stand Out
Background in defense, robotics, autonomous systems, or other high-reliability embedded hardware environments.
Proficiency with Altium Designer or equivalent EDA tooling for both schematic and layout work.
Experience bringing hardware from prototype through qualification and into field deployment.
Familiarity with MIL-SPEC or other environmental qualification standards relevant to defense or field-deployed hardware.
What We Offer
Competitive salary
ACS Equity Package
Health, Dental, Vision Insurance
Paid Time Off
Allen Control Systems is an Equal Opportunity Employer, providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment. Allen Control Systems prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. #LI-AS1
Skills Required
- 7+ years of electrical engineering experience, including direct management of electrical engineers
- Hands-on experience with schematic capture and PCB layout
- Technical depth across power electronics, motor drivers, embedded computing, and networking
- Experience leading engineering in a matrix organization and coordinating with mechanical, firmware, and systems teams
- Experience mentoring and developing junior electrical engineers through design reviews and career development
- Ability and willingness to remain technically active alongside management responsibilities
- Ability to review and approve designs, maintaining high standards for quality and reliability
- Background in defense, robotics, autonomous systems, or other high-reliability embedded hardware environments
- Proficiency with Altium Designer or equivalent EDA tooling
- Experience bringing hardware from prototype through qualification and into field deployment
- Familiarity with MIL-SPEC or other environmental qualification standards
Allen Control Systems Compensation & Benefits Highlights
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Healthcare Strength — Health, dental, and vision coverage are consistently listed as employer‑provided across current role descriptions, indicating a solid core healthcare offering. This aligns with the startup‑standard package the company advertises.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Paid time off is explicitly advertised alongside core health benefits in multiple postings. While accrual details aren’t shown publicly, its consistent inclusion signals baseline time‑off coverage.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — An “ACS Equity Package” is repeatedly called out in job descriptions, suggesting equity grants are a standard component of total compensation. Visibility of equity across roles points to broad access to ownership upside, with specifics to be confirmed.
Allen Control Systems Insights
What We Do
Allen Control Systems is a defense technology company for a new era of drone warfare and to completely change battlefield economics. ACS is developing counter-drone robotic gun systems targeted at neutralizing attacking drone swarms, drones that are pre-programmed with AI, and drones that are non-jammable. ACS was created to lower the cost per kill of a drone to a few dollars. We do this by combining cutting-edge hardware and software that allows us to point an inexpensive gun that already exists in the field more accurately than anyone ever has before. ACS is a remote organization, with our HQ in Austin, Texas, and an office in Alexandria, Va. If you're passionate about our mission, we’d love to hear from you.
Allen Control Systems Offices
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