Mechanical Design & Prototyping Engineer

Haast Autonomous is building an autonomous aircraft network for time-sensitive medical logistics. We’re developing long-range VTOL aircraft, autonomy software, and the operational foundation needed to move critical payloads between hospitals, labs, and healthcare facilities on-demand faster and more reliably.

We’re early, small, and moving quickly. Joining Haast means more than filling a role — it means helping set the company culture and the foundation for how we build aircraft, runs flight tests, designs safety systems, works with healthcare partners, and turns prototypes into a real logistics network.

We’re looking for high-agency people who want ownership, urgency, and system-level impact from day one.

About the Role

As a Mechanical Design & Prototyping Engineer at Haast, you’ll help design and build the physical aircraft systems that make our autonomous aircraft network possible.

You’ll work across CAD, structures, prototyping, aircraft packaging, fixtures, payload integration, manufacturing, and flight-test support. This is a hands-on role. We’re looking for someone who can design a part, build it, install it, watch it fail, improve it, and get it ready for the next test.

This is not a CAD-only job. You’ll be close to the aircraft, the shop, the test team, and the actual hardware.

What You’ll Do

• Design and develop aircraft structures, mechanisms, mounts, fixtures, and prototype hardware.

• Own CAD for key airframe and mechanical systems.

• Design payload bays, landing gear, motor mounts, avionics mounts, access panels, covers, brackets, and internal structure.

• Build prototypes using 3D printing, composites, foam, carbon fiber, hand tools, and other rapid fabrication methods.

• Create detailed part drawings, assembly documentation, BOMs, and revision history.

• Work with avionics and controls engineers to package sensors, wiring, batteries, antennas, and payload interfaces.

• Improve the aircraft for buildability, repairability, serviceability, and repeatability.

• Support aircraft assembly, pre-flight inspections, field repairs, post-test teardown, and design changes.

• Track mass properties, center of gravity, structural changes, and manufacturing constraints.

• Help move Haast from one-off prototypes toward aircraft hardware that can support a real autonomous medical logistics network.

What We’re Looking For

• Strong CAD skills in SolidWorks, Fusion 360, Onshape, CATIA, NX, or similar.

• Experience building real hardware, not just designing it.

• Good mechanical intuition around structures, load paths, fasteners, adhesives, vibration, packaging, and manufacturability.

• Comfortable working with 3D printing, composites, foam, carbon fiber, basic shop tools, and rapid prototyping.

• Ability to move quickly without being sloppy.

• Strong ownership. You don’t wait around for perfect requirements.

• Good documentation habits so the team can actually track what changed.

• Excitement to work in a startup environment where the aircraft, process, and company are all being built at the same time.

Nice to Have

• Experience with UAVs, RC aircraft, fixed-wing aircraft, VTOL aircraft, robotics, motorsports, or aerospace hardware.

• Composite layup, vacuum bagging, mold design, or foam-core construction experience.

• Experience with lightweight aircraft structures, spars, ribs, motor mounts, control surfaces, or landing gear.

• Familiarity with aircraft CG, stability, vibration, thermal, and avionics packaging constraints.

• Experience on a student design team, aerospace startup, robotics team, race team, or fast-moving hardware project.

What Success Looks Like

Within your first month, you’ll understand the aircraft architecture, clean up critical CAD and build issues, and help prepare the next prototype for testing.

Within three months, you’ll have helped us build stronger, cleaner, more repeatable aircraft hardware and improved the speed at which we can design, build, test, and iterate.

Who You Are

You’re a builder. You like real hardware, fast iteration, and solving problems with your hands. You care about clean design, but you care even more about whether the aircraft actually survives testing and gets us closer to reliable flight.

You’re comfortable with ambiguity, but you’re not chaotic. You can move fast and still leave behind useful drawings, notes, and documentation.

Location

This role is hands-on and will require regular onsite work with the aircraft, prototype shop, and flight-test team. Onsite or relocation is strongly preferred.

Compensation

Competitive cash compensation plus meaningful early-stage equity. Final compensation will depend on experience, seniority, and role structure.

How to Apply

Send your resume and a short note about what you’ve built. Include examples of aircraft, vehicles, robots, structures, prototypes, fixtures, or mechanical systems you personally designed or fabricated.

Even if you don’t meet every qualification listed, we still want to hear from you. Haast is an early team, and we care more about agency, ownership, speed, judgment, and the ability to build than checking every box. We value unconventional backgrounds, practical problem-solvers, and people who are excited to help create the foundation for a new autonomous medical logistics network.