Job description

Who We Are Griffon Aerospace designs, builds, and flies unmanned aerial systems that perform. We are a focused team of engineers and operators who care about mission success before satisfying any other "metrics." We don't hand work off and walk away. We own it. Our culture is defined by technical rigor, follow-through, and refusal to accept "good enough." The Role We're looking for someone who has actually built things that fly and knows what it takes to turn a good design into hundreds of good units. You'll own Griffon's Group 1 multi-rotor product line end-to-end. Aircraft scale cleanly in production and a supply chain that can keep up with it. You should know your way around small UAS hardware, understand what it takes to design volume rather than one-off builds, and be comfortable on a supplier's shop floor or in an integration lab as easily as at a desk running analysis tools. Key Responsibilities Product Ownership – Define and own the product engineering for Griffon's Group 1 FPV/quadcopter systems. – Drive requirements, design priorities, and performance envelopes across airframe, propulsion, power, and RF/video link – Write SRDs and ICDs that engineers, suppliers, and integration partners can build to, not just check a box with. – Run trade studies on platform configurations, component commonality, and design-for-cost across product variants. Design for Scale – Lead design decisions that trade one-off performance for producibility, driving toward designs that scale cleanly from tens to hundreds of units without a redesign. – Standardize components and subassemblies across quadcopter variants to simplify production, sparing, and field support. – Partner with manufacturing engineering to move designs into low-rate and full-rate production at the right unit cost and delivery rate. Build a Supply Chain That Scales – Identify, qualify, and manage suppliers for airframes, motors, ESCs, batteries, and RF components, with an eye toward lead time, single points of failure, and cost at volume. – Build second source and multi-source strategies for critical components to keep production moving through shortages or supplier issues. – Manage supplier corrective action requests (SCARs) and hold vendors accountable for quality, cost, and schedule. Lead Integration with Autonomy and Payload Partners – Serve as the primary technical interface with external autonomy and payload providers, translating their interface requirements into something Griffon's engineering team can work with. – Manage the interface control process across autonomy stacks, payload bays, and Griffon's airframe and electrical systems, keeping every partner aligned as designs evolve. – Get hands-on integration testing - bench and flight - to find and fix interface issues before they hit the field. – Track and communicate program status, risk, and technical performance to leadership and customers - no sugarcoating. What We're Looking For Required – Bachelor's degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, Electrical, or Systems Engineering. – 5+ years in UAS or small unmanned systems product development, with direct experience taking a design from prototype to production. – Demonstrated experience managing a multi-vendor supply chain for hardware at volume. – Experience integrating third-party autonomy or payload systems into a fielded platform. – Working knowledge of design-for-manufacturability (DFM) and design-for-cost (DFC) principles. – Strong written and verbal communication skills, including experience writing requirements and interface documentation. – U.S. Citizenship required; ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance. Strongly Preferred – Experience with Group 1 UAS, FPV platforms, or small quadcopter/multirotor systems. – Background working with commercial or DoD autonomy stacks (e.g., PX4, ArduPilot, or proprietary). – Experience taking small UAS hardware through low-rate and full-rate production ramp. – Background supporting DoD or government aerospace programs. – Master's degree in relevant engineering discipline. The Kind of Person Who Thrives Here You show up. When something is broken in the field, you're on a plane. You don't manage from behind a screen. You don't quit. Problems are resolved, not deferred. You find a way or you make one. You own the outcome but share the glory. The whole thing. If the program is late, that's yours. If it delivers, the team is praised not just you. You communicate first. Plans, issues, and new data travel fast here. What Griffon Offers • Competitive salary commensurate with experience and clearance level • Comprehensive benefits: medical, dental, vision, 401(k) with company match • Paid time off and 10 federal holidays • Relocation assistance available for qualified candidates • A small company where your decisions matter and your fingerprints are on real hardware flying real missions

Requirements

Must-haves

Product Ownership
Define and own the product engineering for Griffon's Group 1 FPV/quadcopter systems.
Drive requirements, design priorities, and performance envelopes across airframe, propulsion, power, and RF/video link
Write SRDs and ICDs that engineers, suppliers, and integration partners can build to, not just check a box with.
Run trade studies on platform configurations, component commonality, and design-for-cost across product variants.
Design for Scale
Lead design decisions that trade one-off performance for producibility, driving toward designs that scale cleanly from tens to hundreds of units without a redesign.
Standardize components and subassemblies across quadcopter variants to simplify production, sparing, and field support.
Partner with manufacturing engineering to move designs into low-rate and full-rate production at the right unit cost and delivery rate.
Build a Supply Chain That Scales
Identify, qualify, and manage suppliers for airframes, motors, ESCs, batteries, and RF components, with an eye toward lead time, single points of failure, and cost at volume.
Build second source and multi-source strategies for critical components to keep production moving through shortages or supplier issues.
Manage supplier corrective action requests (SCARs) and hold vendors accountable for quality, cost, and schedule.
Lead Integration with Autonomy and Payload Partners
Serve as the primary technical interface with external autonomy and payload providers, translating their interface requirements into something Griffon's engineering team can work with.
Manage the interface control process across autonomy stacks, payload bays, and Griffon's airframe and electrical systems, keeping every partner aligned as designs evolve.
Get hands-on integration testing - bench and flight - to find and fix interface issues before they hit the field.
Track and communicate program status, risk, and technical performance to leadership and customers - no sugarcoating.
Bachelor's degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, Electrical, or Systems Engineering.
5+ years in UAS or small unmanned systems product development, with direct experience taking a design from prototype to production.
Demonstrated experience managing a multi-vendor supply chain for hardware at volume.
Experience integrating third-party autonomy or payload systems into a fielded platform.
Working knowledge of design-for-manufacturability (DFM) and design-for-cost (DFC) principles.

Nice-to-haves

Strongly Preferred

Application prep

Use the role’s language and application details while tailoring your materials.

Platform: applicantpro
Effort: medium

Benefits

Benefits detected in the listing.

Dental

Vision

401(K)

Paid Time Off