Autonomy Lead

Job description

At Skyways, we are building the next generation of autonomous air transportation. Our fully autonomous unmanned aircraft systems move cargo faster and more efficiently than traditional logistics networks. Backed by strong investor support and a $37M STRATFI contract from the U.S. Air Force, we operate at the intersection of commercial logistics and national defense. Our aircraft are not just prototypes—we design, build, fly, and deploy them with real customers today. Based in Austin and supported by investors including Y Combinator, Skyways combines rapid engineering iteration with real-world operations. As we scale toward larger deployments, we are looking for people who want to help build and operate the future of autonomous aviation. The Opportunity: This role owns autonomy at the system level. You will define how perception, state estimation, planning, and flight behaviors work together to enable reliable, real-world operation. You are responsible for making the full autonomy stack work in practice, not just in isolation. This is a hands-on leadership role. You will guide a small team while directly contributing to architecture, implementation, and flight debugging. Your work w...