Senior Robotics Hardware Engineer (UAVs & Docking)

About the project

Were building Prometheus: autonomous drone swarms designed for GPS-denied and signal-denied environmentswith no pilot no constant radio link and no external compute. The goal is simple: when drones stop being tools and start being teammates.

Instead of programming missions operators state intentSearch the second floor. Map the west wing and find trapped people.and the swarm executes returns to dock recharges and now moving from it works to reliability productization pilots and real deploymentsthats the phase where great engineering matters most.

Example of our work:

The Role

Youll own the next-generation Prometheus drone hardware and the dock. Your job is to take what a small team prototyped and turn it into something we can confidently put into customers hands for industrial inspection / indoor operations with 24/7 capability via docking self-charging or automatic battery hot-swap.

This is a builder role: design prototype break iterate harden repeat. Minimal meetings. High ownership.

This is not a research-only role. In the early phase you will also build and assemble drones and docks for customers in low volumes take responsibility for practical quality checks and fix things that break in the field. Over time manufacturing will move to a dedicated process/team but initially this role includes hands-on building testing and pragmatic role is focused on raising technology readiness (TRL) turning prototypes into repeatable reliable hardware suitable for pilots and early customers not exploratory research.

Key Responsibilities:

Airframe & endurance

• Design the next drone iteration focused on meaningfully longer mission time stability robustness and serviceability (current version V1 can be seen here: ).
• Drive propulsion/weight/thermal tradeoffs with explicit budgets (mass power noise cooling crash energy etc.).
• Design for close-to-obstacles indoor flight with protections (guards bump tolerance maintainability).

Docking & energy replenishment (core)

• Own the dock mechanical system and the drone-side interface:
• precision landing guidance & alignment features
• contact charging OR inductive charging OR automatic hot-swap interface (your recommended solution)
• safe retention/locking E-stop behaviors fail-safe states
• Design for repeated cycles dirt/dust misalignment and abuse.

Hardening for customer environments

• Turn prototype works in our observation space into works reliably for pilots and customers:
• shock/vibration protective structures connectors cable management
• repairability: fast swap of arms/guards modular components
• environmental constraints: dust temperature light smoke residue etc.

Engineering process (lightweight but real)

• Implement DFM/DFA thinking early (fast assembly reduced part count reliable fasteners tolerances).
• Define acceptance tests reliability tests and a flight hours failures fixes loop.
• Own suppliers for mechanical parts and iterate rapidly (3D print CNC compositeswhatever fits).
• Comfort defining and tracking basic quality metrics (failure rate repair time cycle count).

What success looks like (first 36 months)

• A clear hardware roadmap with 23 staged prototypes (alpha hardened alpha pilot unit).
• A new drone iteration with clearly improved flight time (e.g. via batteries propellers airframe efficiency mass reduction) backed by measurementsnot just theory.
• A working dock prototype with repeatable autonomous cycles and a realistic path to production.
• A documented energy replenishment decision (charge vs swap) backed by a test plan and early validation.
• Measurable improvement in endurance repairability and ops friction (setup time swap time failure rate).

Trial period and evaluation (first 4 months)

This role has a clear trial period with explicit expectations and fast feedback.

• Progress is reviewed weekly directly by Marek.
• We prefer to end things early rather than let misalignment drag on.

Expected trajectory during the trial period:

Weeks 14

• Rebuild and iterate on the current V2 drone.
• Show fast execution: first working hardware improvements in days not weeks.
• Demonstrate the ability to choose a direction finish and not get lost in options.

Weeks 510

• Deliver a more substantial iteration (informally V3 direction):
• improved flight time
• better robustness and serviceability
• cleaner assembly and repair flow

Weeks 1116

• Design and prototype the docking station (charging or hot-swap).
• Validate core assumptions with real hardware tests.
• Show that you can converge on a reliable solution not just explore concepts.

If progress stalls iteration speed is low or ownership is missing we will not wait months to make a decision.

Required Profile(must-have)

• Strong mechanical/mechatronics engineering skills with real shipped hardware not only research prototypes.
• Excellent 3D modelling tools (CAD Fusion360 or similar)
• Experience with industrial design
• Hands-on prototyping: 3D printing workshop tools fast iteration debugging physical systems.
• Ability to design systems that survive repeated use: connectors mounts retention wear vibration shock.
• Independence: you can take a vague goal turn it into requirements design test plan and execute.

Good to have

• UAV or high-dynamics robotics experience (propulsion vibration weight/power budgets).
• Docking/charging/hot-swap systems (robots drones warehouses consumer devices).
• Basic electronics integration literacy (you dont need to be an EE but you can work with one).
• Ability to write and debug firmware/software for embedded systems
• Experience with CFD basic understanding of aerodynamics
• Reliability tools: FMEA HALT/HASS mindset design of stress tests failure analysis.
• Manufacturing exposure: contract manufacturers supplier management assembly line thinking.
• Comfort using modern AI tools (e.g. LLMs AI coding assistants) for faster iteration documentation analysis and problem solving.

This will be a bad fit if

• You prefer long planning cycles over building and testing hardware weekly.
• You avoid ambiguity and need fully specified requirements before starting.
• You dont enjoy owning systems end-to-end (design build test field failures fixes).
• Youre here mainly for research novelty rather thanhardening and shipping.

What youll find at GoodAI:

Impact

• Build a real-world autonomous drone-swarm platform with measurable field deployments. Youll own a core subsystem of a category-defining product:LLM-first swarm-first full-stack control reliability-obsessed autonomy.
• The tech matters: autonomy in GPS/signal-denied environments is strategically important and were building it in Europe.
• Small team high impact. If you like building real machines fast youll fit.

How we work

• on-site Prague 6: limited home office
• Low bureaucracy fast decisions direct access to founder

Time off & wellbeing

• 5 weeks vacation
• Flexible sick leave

Workspace

• Modern offices at Oranžerie Prague quiet focus zones beautiful garden great daylight quality equipment bike storage gym and shower fully stocked kitchen lunches prepared by our private chefs

Community

• Regular team breakfasts workshops and relaxed meetups (BBQ game nights parties teambuildings)