From first principles, it is the obvious place to build. Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites orbit at 400 kilometers, moving at 17,000 mph and offering only brief snapshots. An autonomous solar-powered bird at 20 kilometers, or 65,000 ft, flies steady above the clouds and weather. In other words, it’s very close to Earth. And persistent by flying in circles. Effectively a Cell Tower in the Sky. The Stratosphere provides the physics of permanence. That persistence is priceless. That is Skylink.
The first product of Icarus is a small, affordable solar-powered Stratospheric bird. A platform designed to be light, simple, and built under constraints. Affordability is the foundation. More importantly, it solves a real use case now. A wedge into the market through intelligence and communications. A beachhead that proves the model, attracts customers who need it so badly they’ll use it even before it’s perfect, and opens the path to market disruption at scale.
The vision goes further than building one plane or even one fleet. The goal is Skylink: a persistent Stratospheric grid delivering continuous intelligence, uninterrupted communications, and global connectivity. A new layer of infrastructure. The next backbone of how we see, sense, and connect the world.
Our mission at Icarus is to re-establish and maintain dominance in the Stratosphere. We asked ourselves: what is the fastest and best way to execute this? The answer was not to start with a massive, billion-dollar program. It was to start with affordable birds, scale endurance step by step, and build upward into Skylink.
Icarus was founded on the belief that the Stratosphere is the Forgotten Frontier and that reclaiming it will define the next era of aerospace and what is possible from the sky. We build solar-powered aircraft that fly at 60,000 ft for weeks at a time, delivering persistent, affordable, and scalable presence from this layer of the atmosphere.
This role is built for Formula SAE people.
If you were the person on your team who got things built, stayed late, solved ugly problems, learned whatever was needed, and refused to quit until the car worked, we want to talk.
You do not need a perfect resume. You do not need years of industry experience. You do not need to have had the fanciest title on the team. You need grit, horsepower, humility, technical curiosity, and the will to become great.
Re-establish and maintain dominance in the Stratosphere.
No tourists. No bystanders. Only builders.
The only hard requirement is Formula SAE experience. No long process. No endless interview loops. No corporate nonsense. If you built real hardware on a Formula SAE team and you have the grit, hunger, and humility to grow fast, we want to talk.
$100,000 - $160,000 USD
The salary range for this role is an estimate based on a wide range of compensation factors, inclusive of base salary only. Actual salary may vary based on (but not limited to) work experience, education and/or training, critical skills, and/or business considerations. Highly competitive equity grants are considered part of Icarus' total compensation package.
We’re an equal opportunity employer. We welcome all applicants without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.
Job details are sourced from the employer's original posting.
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Icarus builds solar-powered aircraft that fly at 60,000 ft for weeks at a time, delivering persistent, affordable, and scalable presence from the Stratosphere.