Seeing Systems
Founding Hardware Engineer
New
60000 –120000 GBP / yearEuropeSeniorschematicselectronics designrf circuitspower systems
Design and own modular hardware systems for autonomous FPV-class drones from schematics to field deployment.
About the company
- Seeing Systems is building autonomous drone systems that can perceive, navigate, and act intelligently in complex real-world environments.
- We’re advancing autonomy through monocular vision, sensor fusion, and robust system design — drones that keep working where traditional systems fail, supported by an agentic stack that reduces operator cognitive load.
- Our first product is an FPV-class drone built from the ground up with a modular hardware architecture . If we get the first platform right, we can move fast on everything else: larger airframes, longer range, new payloads, and new mission profiles without rebuilding the stack each time.
- We were founded by brothers Matthew and Alexander Le Maitre . Matthew is a former Jane Street engineer and Cambridge CS graduate with a background in autonomous systems research. Alexander is a self-taught hardware engineer who has been building unmanned systems and military-grade electronics.
- We’re an early-stage, fast-moving team working at the intersection of robotics, perception, and real-world deployment. We iterate weekly. We test in real environments.
Responsibilities
- You will own hardware at Seeing Systems from first schematic to flying systems in the field.
- That means designing the electronics and the physical systems around them: flight controllers, motor drivers, RF circuits, power systems, sensor boards, payload boards, frames, enclosures, mounts, packaging, and ground station hardware. You’ll take ownership of the whole stack and turn blank-schematic ideas into reliable products that work outside the lab.
- This is a founding hardware role . You won’t just design boards — you’ll own them through bring-up, flight testing, iteration, and production. You’ll help define the modular architecture we scale from, so every new platform builds on the last instead of starting over.
- You’ll work directly with Alex on hardware architecture, set technical direction, and grow into the leader of the hardware team as we scale.
- Within 30 days: you’ve brought up your first custom board and flown it on one of our drones. Within 90 days: you will have completed the first production-ready revision of our modular flight controller and integrated it into our alpha airframe
- Design PCBs end-to-end: flight controllers, motor drivers, RF and antenna boards, power distribution, BMS, sensor boards, and payload boards.
- Own schematic capture , multi-layer layout, bring-up, debug, signal and power integrity, and EMI/EMC.
- Build the physical system around the electronics: enclosures, mounts, thermal solutions, airframe integration, and ground station hardware.
- Own RF and wireless subsystems: telemetry, video downlink, and command & control, including antenna integration and range testing in poor conditions and optimise for high-interference electronic warfare environments.
- Define system architecture and translate block diagrams into functional products.
- Work with manufacturers and suppliers on cost, yield, reliability, and manufacturability.
- Use AI tools to accelerate design, firmware, and debug.
- Help define engineering culture , tools, and the hardware team behind you.
Requirements
- A track record of taking hardware from blank page to manufactured units that work in the field, or a portfolio of personal builds that proves you can do it.
- Strong PCB design skills in Altium or KiCad.
- Deep grounding in analog, digital, and power electronics.
- Real RF/wireless design experience.
- Comfortable with the gap between “works on the bench” and “works at range in the field.”
- Bias toward shipping.
- Comfortable getting outside and testing in the real world with us.
Nice to have
- Defence, aerospace, or UAV industry experience.
- Personal experience building and flying drones, robots, or other unmanned systems.
- Embedded work with STM32-class MCUs and protocols such as SPI, I2C, UART, USB, CAN, and Ethernet.
- Long-range RF protocols and link budget analysis.
- Analog and high-speed digital video design.
- C/C++ firmware for board bring-up and diagnostics.
- DFM, DFT, and EMI experience.
- Startup or founding engineer experience.
Conditions
- Founding-level ownership of the hardware stack and technical direction.
- Fast iteration: hardware in operators’ hands in months, not years.
- Small, high-agency team with a direct line from idea to field test.
- Real deployment pressure, real feedback, real learning.
- Snack of choice stocked in the workshop