Hardware Integration Engineer – Recon Works

Location: Washington, DC (Hybrid on-site)
Travel: 25%
Clearance: U.S. Citizenship and ability to obtain a security clearance required

About NODA

NODA is a veteran-owned, venture-backed defense technology company building the orchestration layer for autonomous unmanned systems. Our platform coordinates fleets of heterogeneous vehicles across air, sea, and land for defense and intelligence customers. We expect every hire to be mission-driven with strong agency.

NODA Recon Works imagines the future of autonomous warfare, then builds it. We are a small team of multidisciplinary technical experts that scouts, analyzes, prototypes, and delivers de-risked technologies to integrate into our products or become new ones altogether.

Engineers wanted for challenging journey. Fast pace, uncertain requirements, imaginative leaps expected, path to production sometimes doubtful. Defense of the free world in case of success.

The Role

As Hardware Integration Engineer - Recon Works, you turn concepts into working hardware. You design prototype parts in CAD, integrate mechanical, electrical, and compute subsystems onto unmanned vehicles, and test what you build in the lab and the field until it works or we learn why it can't.

This is a hands-on mechanical engineering and hardware integration role for someone who would rather be at the bench or on the range than in a slide deck. You work on our Recon Works team with a technical program manager, multidisciplinary engineer, and a mission analyst.

Key Responsibilities

• Plan and run bench, lab, and field tests of prototype systems: write test plans, instrument hardware, collect and analyze data, and turn results into design changes (50%)

• Integrate subsystems from multiple sources (sensors, payloads, compute, power, communications, and propulsion) onto air, sea, and land platforms, including wiring harnesses, connectors, and power distribution (30%)

• Design prototype parts and assemblies in CAD (SolidWorks, Onshape, or similar) for rapid fabrication by 3D printing, machining, or sheet metal, from brackets and enclosures to complete payload mounts (20%)

• Document designs, interfaces, and test results so de-risked prototypes can hand off cleanly to NODA product and engineering teams

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in mechanical, aerospace, electrical, mechatronics, or a related engineering field

• 3+ years of hands-on hardware development, integration, or test experience

• Proficiency in a parametric CAD tool (SolidWorks, Onshape, NX, or Creo) and in designing for rapid fabrication (additive, CNC, sheet metal)

• Hands-on electromechanical integration experience, including wiring harnesses, connectors, and power distribution, and debugging with multimeters, oscilloscopes, and similar tools

• Experience writing test plans, running hardware tests, and turning test data into design changes

• Comfort with shop tools and fabrication, and with working outdoors in field test conditions

• US citizenship is required due to ITAR regulations, along with the ability to obtain and maintain a DoD security clearance

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience building or testing unmanned systems (UAS, UGV, USV, or UUV)

• Familiarity with common autonomy hardware, such as PX4 or ArduPilot autopilots, embedded compute (for example, NVIDIA Jetson), EO/IR, lidar, or radar sensors, and tactical radios

• Python or similar scripting for data acquisition and test analysis

• Environmental or qualification testing experience (for example, MIL-STD-810 or MIL-STD-461)

• FAA Part 107 remote pilot certificate

• Existing Secret or higher clearance

Attributes

• Bias towards building: you would rather make a part tonight than analyze it for a week

• Systems thinking: you see how a change affects the entire system and never think in terms of local optimums

• Comfort with ambiguity: requirements shift and prototypes fail; you have a short memory when it comes to failure and a long memory when it comes to vision

• High agency: you find the problems, fix them, and communicate back to team

• Test discipline: you record what we tested, what happened, and why, so that the next test - and team - is always improving

• We offer comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans

• Equity grants for new hires

• Unlimited PTO

• 11 Paid holidays

• Extremely generous company holiday calendar, including a holiday hiatus in November & December.

• Generous Parental Leave

• FSA

• DCFSA

• HSA

• Professional Development Opportunities

• Access to One Medical

Export Control Compliance

To conform to U.S. government export control regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and Export Administration Regulations (EAR), you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or otherwise eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State or U.S. Department of Commerce.

Equal Opportunity Statement

NODA AI is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to fostering a diverse, inclusive, and respectful workplace and to maintaining equitable employment and hiring practices. We provide equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees and make all employment decisions without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

NODA AI is committed to fostering an inclusive, supportive, and accessible work environment for all applicants and employees. If you require accommodations or assistance during the application process, please don't hesitate to reach out to us at careers@NodaIntelligence.ai or contact your recruiter so we can provide the support you need.