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
What You'll Do:
Design mechanical components and assemblies for aircraft structures and subsystem integration.
Build prototypes, support aircraft integration, and iterate designs based on manufacturing, testing, and flight performance
Create CAD models, drawings, and documentation used during aircraft builds.
Work closely with electrical, software, manufacturing, and flight teams to ensure hardware performs reliably in real operations.
Design test stands, write test plans, and conduct test campaigns to characterize subsystem performance.
What You'll Bring:
Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related field
Experience designing mechanical components and assemblies using CAD tools such as SolidWorks or similar
Experience building or prototyping hardware and working directly with physical systems during integration or testing
Strong problem solving skills and first principles
Comfort working in a fast moving engineering environment where designs evolve quickly
Ability to collaborate across engineering disciplines to solve system level problems
Interest in working on aircraft, robotics, or other complex hardware systems
Bonus Points:
Experience designing and building hardware for aerospace, robotics, or autonomous systems
Experience supporting prototype builds, integration, or hardware testing
Experience with composite structures or lightweight mechanical systems
Startup or early stage hardware company experience where engineers work directly with builds and testing
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.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related field
- Experience designing mechanical components and assemblies using CAD tools
- Experience building or prototyping hardware
- Strong problem solving skills
- Ability to collaborate across engineering disciplines
Skyways Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Skyways and has not been reviewed or approved by Skyways.
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Healthcare Strength — Employee medical and dental are employer-paid with additional vision and HSA/FSA options noted; core health coverage appears strong for a hardware/robotics startup.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — Stock options are offered to every employee and performance bonuses are listed; ownership upside is broadly accessible across the organization.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Time off is described as generous, with paid holidays and generous parental leave highlighted; the breadth of leave supports work-life needs beyond baseline policies.
Skyways Insights
What We Do
We are creating a new form of transportation to advance the future of our civilization. Our story starts with fully autonomous, unmanned aerial vehicles with vertical take-off and landing capability and used for cargo transportation.
Why Work With Us
We are creating a new form of transportation to advance the future of our civilization. Skyways is building fully autonomous cargo aircraft with vertical takeoff and landing capability to transform how goods move. Join a small, ambitious team solving hard aerospace and autonomy problems with real world impact.
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