Careers
Do work that stands
between a drone and a person.
Velatus is a small team solving one of the defining defense problems of this decade. The work is hard, the mission is unambiguous, and what you build gets fielded.
The mission is the point
Every system we ship exists to protect people who cannot choose whether the threat shows up. That clarity shapes every technical decision.
Small teams, full ownership
Engineers own problems end to end — from RF physics to field feedback. No layers between you and the thing that has to work.
Builders with urgency
The threat iterates in weeks, so we do too. We hire people who prototype fast, test honestly, and would rather field it than perfect it.
Open Roles
Current openings
Don't see your role? We are always interested in exceptional RF, embedded, autonomy, and mission-systems engineers — write to careers@velatus.io.
Senior RF Systems Engineer
Own the RF chain at the heart of our passive detection and active countermeasure systems — from antenna and front-end design through signal processing architecture. You will set the technical direction for how Velatus senses and affects the RF environment, and your decisions will ship in fielded hardware.
Responsibilities
- Architect and design RF receive and transmit chains for detection and countermeasure systems, from antenna interface to digitizer
- Lead link-budget, sensitivity, and dynamic-range analysis for passive detection of low-power UAS control and video links
- Design, prototype, and characterize RF front ends: LNAs, filtering, downconversion, and SDR-based receiver architectures
- Guide EMI/EMC design and spectrum-coexistence strategy so systems operate safely alongside friendly emitters
- Take hardware from bench through environmental qualification and into field test, and own what the data says
- Mentor junior engineers and set RF design standards across the company
Required qualifications
- BS in Electrical Engineering or related field and 8+ years of RF/microwave systems experience (or MS and 6+)
- Demonstrated ownership of an RF product or subsystem from concept through production or fielding
- Deep fluency in receiver design: noise figure, linearity, spurious analysis, frequency planning
- Hands-on lab skills — spectrum and network analyzers, anechoic/OTA measurement, RF debug
- U.S. citizenship with the ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance
Preferred
- Experience with electronic warfare, SIGINT, or counter-UAS systems
- Software-defined radio development (USRP or similar) and FPGA-adjacent signal chain work
- Phased array or direction-finding antenna system experience
- Active security clearance
Compensation
$150,000 – $210,000 base salary, plus equity and benefits. Placement within the range depends on experience and location.
Apply for this role
Embedded Software Engineer
Write the software that runs on the sensor nodes, effectors, and wearable devices themselves — real-time, resource-constrained, and expected to work the first time someone's safety depends on it.
Responsibilities
- Design and implement firmware and embedded Linux software for sensor and countermeasure hardware
- Build real-time signal and data pipelines from ADC front ends through detection logic to network egress
- Implement low-latency, loss-tolerant messaging between distributed nodes over constrained tactical links
- Drive power management and thermal behavior for battery-operated, soldier-worn devices
- Own board bring-up with the hardware team: drivers, bootloaders, diagnostics, and manufacturing test
- Write software that fails predictably — watchdogs, degraded modes, and safe-state behavior are part of the design, not an afterthought
Required qualifications
- BS in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or Electrical Engineering and 4+ years of embedded development
- Strong C/C++ on embedded Linux and/or RTOS targets; comfort reading schematics and datasheets
- Experience with common embedded interfaces: SPI, I2C, UART, Ethernet, USB
- Debugging discipline: JTAG/SWD, logic analyzers, and instrumenting systems you can't attach a debugger to in the field
- U.S. citizenship with the ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance
Preferred
- Rust experience, or strong interest in adopting it for new development
- DSP implementation experience (filtering, FFTs, detection algorithms) on embedded or FPGA targets
- Experience shipping devices through environmental or MIL-STD qualification
Compensation
$120,000 – $175,000 base salary, plus equity and benefits. Placement within the range depends on experience and location.
Apply for this role
Sensor Fusion / Tracking Engineer
Turn noisy, intermittent detections from RF, acoustic, and optical sensors into a single track picture a commander can act on. This is the algorithmic core of the layered defense — the layer where math becomes decision time.
Responsibilities
- Design and implement multi-sensor, multi-target tracking: filtering, data association, and track management
- Fuse heterogeneous detections (RF direction-finding, acoustic bearing, EO/IR) with different rates, latencies, and error models
- Develop threat classification approaches that separate hostile UAS from friendly air traffic, birds, and clutter
- Define accuracy and latency budgets that downstream defeat systems can actually rely on
- Validate algorithms against recorded field data and live flight tests, and close the loop on every miss
- Implement production-quality algorithm code with the embedded team for deployment at the edge
Required qualifications
- MS or PhD in EE, Aerospace, Robotics, Applied Math, or similar — or a BS with equivalent proven experience
- 3+ years applying estimation and tracking theory: Kalman-family filters, IMM, MHT/JPDA or modern equivalents
- Strong Python and C++ for both experimentation and production implementation
- Experience validating algorithms against real sensor data, not just simulation
- U.S. citizenship with the ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance
Preferred
- Radar, EW, air defense, or counter-UAS tracking experience
- Machine-learning classification experience where the failure cases were safety-relevant
- Familiarity with GPU or embedded acceleration of real-time algorithms
Compensation
$140,000 – $200,000 base salary, plus equity and benefits. Placement within the range depends on experience and location.
Apply for this role
Field Test & Integration Engineer
Be the person who takes the system out of the lab and proves it on a range — and the voice of the field inside the engineering team. You will plan test events, run them, and turn what happened into what we fix next.
Responsibilities
- Plan and execute field test events: objectives, test cards, range coordination, safety planning, and data collection
- Install, configure, and operate Velatus systems at test ranges and customer sites
- Fly and operate representative UAS threat surrogates against our systems (Part 107 operations)
- Run data collection and quick-look analysis on site; deliver structured test reports engineering can act on
- Support customer demonstrations and initial fielding, including training operators
- Feed field reality back into requirements — what broke, what confused an operator, what the environment did that the lab didn't
Required qualifications
- BS in an engineering discipline, or 5+ years of equivalent hands-on test/integration experience (military technical experience strongly valued)
- Field test experience with RF, sensor, or unmanned systems — comfortable with generators, cabling, networking, and improvisation under weather
- Systematic data collection habits and clear written reporting
- Willingness to travel up to 50%, including remote range locations
- U.S. citizenship with the ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance
Preferred
- FAA Part 107 certificate and small-UAS piloting experience
- Prior military service, range operations, or test and evaluation background
- Familiarity with spectrum coordination and frequency authorization processes for test events
Compensation
$95,000 – $140,000 base salary, plus equity, benefits, and travel per diem. Placement within the range depends on experience and location.
Apply for this role
Director of Business Development
Build the pipeline that gets Velatus capability into programs of record. You will own the map of customers, programs, and primes in the counter-UAS space — and convert that map into funded work.
Responsibilities
- Identify, qualify, and pursue opportunities across DoD services, program offices, and allied customers
- Build and manage relationships with primes, integrators, and teaming partners
- Lead capture: shape requirements, position Velatus discriminators, and drive proposal strategy through submission
- Represent the company at industry days, symposia, and customer engagements; arrange and support capability demonstrations
- Track the counter-UAS budget and acquisition landscape (SBIR/STTR, OTAs, rapid-fielding pathways) and steer pursuit priorities
- Give engineering an honest signal of what the market needs next
Required qualifications
- 8+ years in defense business development, capture, or program management with a track record of closed awards
- Working knowledge of defense acquisition: color-of-money, OTA and SBIR pathways, and how programs of record actually form
- Existing relationships in the C-UAS, air defense, EW, or force-protection communities
- Ability to translate between operators, acquisition officials, and engineers
- U.S. citizenship; ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance
Preferred
- Prior military or government acquisition service
- Experience taking a small company's first products into DoD customers
- Active clearance
Compensation
$170,000 – $230,000 base salary, plus incentive compensation tied to capture outcomes, equity, and benefits. Placement within the range depends on experience and location.
Apply for this roleClearance note: Some positions require the ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance, which requires U.S. citizenship. Requirements are stated per role, and we sponsor the clearance process for selected candidates.
Equal opportunity: Velatus, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or status as a protected veteran. Citizenship and clearance requirements noted above arise from U.S. national security regulations applicable to our work, not from company preference.
Join
Build what the threat never sees coming.
Send a resume and a note about what you want to own.
careers@velatus.io