Drone Technology Research Lead

This role leads a specialized research team focused on the electronic and signal aspects of drones, including communication protocols, flight controllers, and GNSS systems. The primary objective is to deconstruct and understand modern drone technologies to provide actionable insights for the Electronic Warfare R&D team, supporting drone detection, jamming, and spoofing capabilities. The role involves managing daily operations, building test platforms, and maintaining a threat intelligence matrix.

Responsibilities

• ● Lead and mentor a small team of junior researchers. Assign tasks, manage ongoing lab/field activities, and track research progress to ensure milestones are met efficiently.
• ● Build non-standard drones using custom or off-the-shelf components. Conduct rigorous lab and field tests to study their electronic behavior under various conditions.
• ●Perform deep dives into drone communication protocols (RF links, Wi-Fi, proprietary telemetry), flight controller firmware, and GNSS navigation systems to identify vulnerabilities and operational mechanics.
• ● Translate technical findings into practical, actionable insights for the EW R&D team to improve our counter-drone capabilities (detection, RF jamming, and GPS/GNSS spoofing).
• ● Continuously monitor the internet, forums, dark webs, and tech spaces for emerging drone technologies, DIY trends, and evolving tactics.
• ● Maintain a continuously updated, priority-based "drone threat list." Create detailed, evidence-based reports on new technologies with clearly cited sources, and confidently present these findings across the company.

Requirements

• ●No formal academic degree is required. However, deep, provable hands-on experience and familiarity with the drone/sUAS ecosystem is absolutely mandatory.
• ●Intimate knowledge of drone electronics, flight controllers (e.g., Betaflight, ArduPilot, PX4), communication links (e.g., ExpressLRS, Crossfire, DJI OcuSync), GNSS modules, SDR and RF Experience.
• ● Proven ability to manage projects, track tasks, and guide a small technical team in a highly dynamic R&D environment.
• ● Strong ability to connect how a drone communicates and navigates to how it can be detected, disrupted, or spoofed.
• ● Excellent written and verbal communication skills to author clear, sourced reports and brief R&D engineering teams.