# Icarus Expands Senior Engineering Team to Scale Stratospheric Defense Aircraft **Author:** Zero G Talent **Published:** 2026-11-03 **Category:** electrical **Tags:** yc-hiring, defense tech, aerospace engineering, avionics, embedded software, hardware engineering [Read on Zero G Talent](https://zerogtalent.com/blog/icarus-expands-senior-engineering-team-to-scale-stratospheric-defense-aircraft) --- [Icarus](https://zerogtalent.com/space-companies/icarus) is scaling its technical team in Los Angeles, opening eight senior engineering positions across flight controls, manufacturing, embedded systems, and radio frequency hardware. The 16-person defense company, founded in 2023 and backed by Initialized and Nexus Venture Partners, develops autonomous, solar-powered aircraft engineered to operate at 60,000 feet for weeks at a time. The Seed-stage startup designs its stratospheric platforms to function as persistent surveillance and communications relays for defense applications. Each aircraft costs roughly $100,000 to produce, allowing operators to deploy swarms at high altitude without the cost structures or launch windows associated with low Earth orbit satellites. ## Persistent Flight at 60,000 Feet Operating above weather systems and conventional commercial airspace, Icarus positions its aircraft as airborne towers capable of continuous line-of-sight communications and persistent intelligence collection. By harvesting solar energy above cloud cover during the day, the platform maintains flight endurance measured in weeks rather than hours. The operational concept targets limitations inherent to both orbital assets and traditional reconnaissance aircraft. While satellites follow predictable orbital mechanics and require costly launch infrastructure, stratospheric aircraft can hold station over fixed operational sectors. The company states that its airframes cost $100,000 each and can be manufactured in high volume, providing redundancy for military command and control networks. ## Leadership and Technical Heritage Icarus was founded by chief executive officer [Henry Kwan](https://zerogtalent.com/people/henry-kwan). Kwan holds an M.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and holds a Top Secret SCI clearance. Before founding Icarus, Kwan worked at Orbital, where he built spacecraft and space robotic systems and contributed to winning a $935M NASA contract to build a space habitat. His background also includes designing and flying drones for NASA flight sciences, competing as a finalist in two NASA aerospace design competitions, and advising Fortune 500 clients on corporate strategy at Deloitte. His experience with orbital mechanics and space robotics informed the founding thesis of Icarus: that stratospheric altitude offers persistent coverage without the physical constraints of orbit. In addition to Initialized and Nexus Venture Partners, Icarus participated in Y Combinator's F25 batch and counts Pioneer Fund, ER Accelerator, and BoostFunder among its portfolio backers. ## Engineering Push in Los Angeles The current hiring drive represents a substantial expansion of the company's 16-person team. All eight open positions are full-time, on-site roles based in Los Angeles, California, with matching salary bands of $120,000 to $220,000 per year. The open technical roles span every core discipline required to build and deploy autonomous airframes: - **Flight Guidance and Autonomy:** The team is recruiting a [Senior GNC Engineer](https://zerogtalent.com/space-jobs/icarus/senior-gnc-engineer-89450) to build flight dynamics, guidance, and navigation models for sustained high-altitude operations, alongside a [Senior Embedded Software Engineer](https://zerogtalent.com/space-jobs/icarus/senior-embedded-software-engineer-89447) to develop flight software and avionics interfaces. - **Airframe and Hardware Engineering:** Physical vehicle development relies on hires for a [Senior Mechanical Engineer](https://zerogtalent.com/space-jobs/icarus/senior-mechanical-engineer-89452) to work on structural airframe design and a [Senior Manufacturing Engineer](https://zerogtalent.com/space-jobs/icarus/senior-manufacturing-engineer-89451) to scale production lines toward low-cost, repeatable unit builds. - **Avionics, RF, and Power:** The electrical payload requires a [Senior Electrical Engineer](https://zerogtalent.com/space-jobs/icarus/senior-electrical-engineer-89446) focused on power systems and solar distribution, as well as a [Senior RF Engineer](https://zerogtalent.com/space-jobs/icarus/senior-rf-engineer-89453) to design antennas and long-range communications hardware. - **Software and Field Operations:** To handle mission planning and field integration, Icarus is hiring a [Senior Full Stack Software Engineer](https://zerogtalent.com/space-jobs/icarus/senior-full-stack-software-engineer-89449) and a [Senior Forward Deployed Engineer](https://zerogtalent.com/space-jobs/icarus/senior-forward-deployed-engineer-89448) to support flight test programs and client deployments. ## Open Positions at Icarus | Role | Location | Work Mode | Salary | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | [Senior Forward Deployed Engineer](https://zerogtalent.com/space-jobs/icarus/senior-forward-deployed-engineer-89448) | Los Angeles, CA, US | Onsite | $120,000 – $220,000 | | [Senior GNC Engineer](https://zerogtalent.com/space-jobs/icarus/senior-gnc-engineer-89450) | Los Angeles, CA, US | Onsite | $120,000 – $220,000 | | [Senior Manufacturing Engineer](https://zerogtalent.com/space-jobs/icarus/senior-manufacturing-engineer-89451) | Los Angeles, CA, US | Onsite | $120,000 – $220,000 | | [Senior Electrical Engineer](https://zerogtalent.com/space-jobs/icarus/senior-electrical-engineer-89446) | Los Angeles, CA, US | Onsite | $120,000 – $220,000 | | [Senior Embedded Software Engineer](https://zerogtalent.com/space-jobs/icarus/senior-embedded-software-engineer-89447) | Los Angeles, CA, US | Onsite | $120,000 – $220,000 | | [Senior Mechanical Engineer](https://zerogtalent.com/space-jobs/icarus/senior-mechanical-engineer-89452) | Los Angeles, CA, US | Onsite | $120,000 – $220,000 | | [Senior RF Engineer](https://zerogtalent.com/space-jobs/icarus/senior-rf-engineer-89453) | Los Angeles, CA, US | Onsite | $120,000 – $220,000 | | [Senior Full Stack Software Engineer](https://zerogtalent.com/space-jobs/icarus/senior-full-stack-software-engineer-89449) | Los Angeles, CA, US | Onsite | $120,000 – $220,000 | [See all open roles at Icarus](https://zerogtalent.com/space-companies/icarus) --- *Source: [Zero G Talent](https://zerogtalent.com), the job board for space, defense, AI, robotics and frontier-tech companies.*