Seeing Systems (YC W26)
Mechanical Hardware Engineer
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About Us
"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.
The Role
You will design, build, and test the physical systems around our electronics as a core member of our growing hardware team.
That means hands-on mechanical engineering work across our aircraft and ground stations: airframes, enclosures, mounts, thermal solutions, payload integration, and packaging. You'll take ownership of defined subsystems and see them through from CAD model to a validated part on a flying aircraft.
You'll report to our Founding Hardware Engineer and work closely with Alex, our co-founder and hardware lead. This is a role for an engineer early in their career who wants to grow fast: you'll be given real responsibility, real deadlines, and real feedback from the field, with senior engineers beside you at the bench.
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Within 30 days: you've designed, prototyped, and fitted a part flying on one of our platforms and joined a field test. Within 90 days: you've taken a mechanical subsystem from CAD through prototyping to a validated revision flying on one of our drones.
What You'll Do
- Design mechanical parts and assemblies for defined subsystems under the direction of the Founding Hardware Engineer: airframe components, enclosures, mounts, payload interfaces, and ground station hardware.
- Own prototyping and iteration for your subsystems: 3D printing, CNC and sheet-metal parts, fit checks, and rework through fast design cycles.
- Design for the environment: vibration, shock, thermal management, ingress protection, and weight targets on flying platforms.
- Integrate electronics into airframes: packaging, cable routing, connector placement, and serviceability, working closely with the electrical team.
- Build and maintain aircraft: assembly, repairs, and configuration control across our test fleet.
- Run test campaigns with our testing lead: prepare aircraft, capture data, log failures, and feed findings back into the next revision.
- Work with manufacturers on quotes, DFM feedback, tolerances, and incoming inspection as we scale production.
- Use AI tools to accelerate design, analysis, and documentation.
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What We're Looking For
- Minimum 2 years of hands-on mechanical engineering experience (professional, or a genuinely equivalent portfolio of shipped personal projects).
- Strong CAD skills in SolidWorks, Fusion 360, or similar - you've taken at least one part from model to manufactured, working hardware.
- Solid grounding in materials, fastening, tolerancing, and design for manufacture.
- Confident in the workshop: 3D printers, hand tools, and methodical fault-finding on physical assemblies.
- 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.
- Composites experience (carbon fibre layup, moulding, or repair).
- FEA or thermal simulation experience.
- Experience with injection moulding or other volume manufacturing processes.
- Basic electronics literacy (soldering, harnessing, reading schematics).
- Early-stage startup experience.
Why Join
- Real ownership of subsystems from day one, with senior engineers invested in your growth.
- 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.
- A clear path to grow into broader hardware ownership as the team scales.
- Snack of choice stocked in the workshop.
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