Senior Forward Deployed Engineer

Icarus•El Segundo, CA

1d•$120,000 - $220,000•Onsite

About The Position

Icarus is seeking a Senior Forward Deployed Engineer to join their team. This role involves deploying and supporting solar-powered aircraft and ground systems in various environments, including test ranges, airfields, and customer locations. The engineer will be responsible for system setup, configuration, integration, and troubleshooting of hardware, software, and networking issues. This is a hands-on role focused on ensuring the operational readiness and success of flight test campaigns and demonstrations, with a high degree of autonomy. The position also involves training operators and customers, and acting as a liaison between the field and engineering teams to provide feedback and recommendations for product improvement. A key aspect of this role is building and growing the forward-deployed function, establishing procedures, runbooks, and standards to maintain aircraft operations in the field.

Requirements

2+ years supporting, deploying, or operating real hardware systems in the field (aerospace, defense, robotics, autonomy, or hardware startups).
Strong hands-on troubleshooting skills across hardware, software, and networking.
Comfortable with tools, cables, configurations, and the command line.
Practical technical range over deep specialization; comfortable with networking fundamentals and software/hardware setup and configuration.
Ability to make the whole system work in the field and help others do the same.
A track record of operating independently in ambiguous, high-pressure environments.
Ability to bring structure where there was none.
Strong communication skills, with the ability to work with engineers, operators, and customers and translate between them.
Willingness to travel frequently and operate out of test ranges, airfields, and remote locations for extended periods.
This is a hands-on hardware and field role, not a desk software job.
Must thrive under pressure, learn fast, troubleshoot in the field, and push systems to their limits.
Expect results and an obsession with quality and speed.

Nice To Haves

Military operations experience, especially in aviation or aviation-adjacent communities with "air sense" (JTAC, JFO, CCT, ATC, aviation operations).

Responsibilities

Deploy aircraft and ground systems to test ranges, airfields, and customer environments, ensuring their setup and operational status.
Provide end-to-end field support, including system setup, software and hardware configuration, integration with site infrastructure, and pre-deployment checkout.
Troubleshoot hardware, software, and networking issues in real-time, in unstructured environments, and drive them to resolution.
Own flight test campaigns, demonstrations, and exercises in the field with high autonomy.
Train and guide operators and customers on system operation and optimization.
Act as a link between the field and engineering by capturing flight data, ground truth, and operator feedback, conducting incident reviews, and providing recommendations.
Build and grow the forward-deployed function, including people, procedures, runbooks, and standards.
Collaborate closely with mechanical, GNC, RF, and software teams.