Electromechanical Technician – Wildfire Drone Manufacturing

Seneca • Sausalito, CA

14d • $71,000 - $130,000

About The Position

Seneca is hiring a production technician to turn kits of parts into flight-ready wildfire-response aircraft. The technician performs hands-on electromechanical final assembly, testing, troubleshooting, inspection, and documentation for drones and their subsystems. The role includes collaborating directly with engineering to clarify instructions and improve designs and production processes. The work supports aircraft used to detect and suppress wildfires.

Requirements

• At least 3 years of hands-on electromechanical assembly, test, or repair experience.
• Strong mechanical assembly skills, including reading drawings, selecting appropriate hardware, working to torque specifications, and fitting precision parts without forcing them.
• Experience with sealed or waterproof assemblies, including gaskets, O-rings, and connector seals.
• Harness skills, including stripping, crimping, terminating, and dressing multiple connector types and wire gauges.
• Sound soldering fundamentals for terminations and splices.
• Ability to read work instructions, bills of materials, assembly drawings, wiring diagrams, and schematics.
• Fluency with torque drivers, multimeters, oscilloscopes, power supplies, and hand tools.
• Understanding of electrical fundamentals and ESD-safe electronics handling.
• Strong attention to detail, quality and documentation discipline, and willingness to raise concerns when something looks wrong.
• Ability to work independently and manage multiple builds and tests in a fast-moving environment.

Nice To Haves

• Experience building, flying, or repairing drones, FPV quadcopters, or robots, professionally or personally.
• Experience with flight controllers, ESCs, motors, and telemetry or communications systems.
• Component-level PCB/PCBA troubleshooting and SMT rework experience.
• IPC/WHMA-A-620, IPC-A-610, or J-STD-001 certification, or progress toward certification.
• Comfort running scripts from a Linux command line; programming is not required.
• Knowledge of LiPo/Li-ion battery systems and safe handling.
• Experience in aerospace, defense, public safety, or another mission-critical industry.
• Experience with ERP/MES systems for build documentation and traceability.
• Familiarity with firefighting, emergency response, or public-safety equipment.

Responsibilities

• Assemble avionics enclosures, propulsion, payload, and airframe subsystems using work instructions, drawings, and bills of materials.
• Install fasteners using the specified hardware, torque values, tightening sequences, and thread-locker where called for.
• Seat gaskets, O-rings, and connector seals to protect electronics in field conditions.
• Build and route power and signal harnesses by stripping, crimping, terminating, and dressing connectors.
• Solder splices, terminations, and repairs as needed.
• Perform pre-power checks, safe power-up, continuity checks, sensor calibration, motor and ESC verification, communications-link testing, and configuration on test stations.
• Troubleshoot mechanical and electrical faults and identify whether they arise from a part, harness, or setup.
• Inspect completed work against drawings and identify defects before shipment.
• Document serial numbers, torque values, test results, and deviations for aircraft traceability.
• Flag unclear instructions and collaborate with engineering on design-for-assembly and design-for-test improvements.
• Conduct root-cause analysis and corrective actions to prevent recurring problems.
• Keep tools, fixtures, test equipment, and workstations organized, calibrated, ESD-safe, and free of foreign object debris.
• Work safely with LiPo/Li-ion batteries and high-current systems and promote safe practices on the production floor.

Benefits

• Equity compensation.
• Medical, dental, and vision plans.
• Optional Health Savings Account (HSA) with pre-tax savings for medical expenses.
• Unlimited paid time off.
• Paid company holidays.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed