Latex Balloon System Engineer

About Urban Sky: 

Urban Sky is a venture-backed aerospace startup that pioneers utilization of the stratosphere and reimagines the way humans view and analyze the earth. We design build operate and sell stratospheric balloon systems and the data we collect supports a wide range of applications from real-time wildfire monitoring to urban mapping. Our technology is also employed by government customers including the Department of Defense (DoD) NASA and others. Urban Sky sends flight vehicles to the stratosphere on a weekly basis. 

Our team consists of engineers makers developers and doers who believe in the power of human potential when passion meets utility within a small supportive team. At Urban Sky we strive to create a team culture grounded in candor inclusion respect and empowerment. 

We aim to build the next chapter of stratospheric history in Denver and are seeking self-starting open-minded and hard-working team members. 

About the Role

Urban Sky is seeking a Latex Balloon Systems Engineer with approximately 3+ years of experience in aerospace mechanical/electrical engineering or related fields. You will lead the end‑to‑end design and development of our next‑generation latex balloon system—including mechanical structures embedded electronics and firmware. This will involve ownership and creation of new systems that are cohesive and coherent to our existing flagship fleet of balloon systems.

Key Responsibilities

• Mechanical system design: Create CAD models analyze structures and oversee fabrication and testing of latex balloon components inflation systems and release mechanisms.
• Electrical & avionics design: Architect the flight electronics stack (power management sensors radios) design schematics and PCBs and integrate with solar or battery systems.
• Firmware development: Develop embedded firmware for flight control telemetry and autonomous functions using C
• System integration & testing: Build prototypes conduct ground and flight tests and iterate designs based on performance data.
• Cross‑functional collaboration: Partner with payload software manufacturing and operations teams to ensure seamless system integration.
• Documentation & compliance: Produce design specs test reports and user manuals while supporting regulatory compliance and safety standards.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Aerospace Electrical Engineering or related field.
• Roughly 3+ years of hands‑on experience designing and building hardware systems.
• Proficiency with CAD (SolidWorks Fusion 360) PCB design tools (KiCad Altium) and embedded development (C/C++).
• Experience with sensors wireless comms power systems and environmental testing.
• Demonstrated ability to take products from concept to production within cross‑disciplinary teams.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Nice‑to‑Haves

• Background in high‑altitude balloons or remote sensing systems.
• Familiarity with latex or flexible‑membrane structures.
• Knowledge of control theory flight dynamics or autonomy algorithms.

Requirements

• U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident (export control compliance).
• On‑site in Denver CO; occasional travel for field testing.
• Comfortable adopting AI‑enabled tools in daily workflow.

Benefits

• Salary range: $90000 – $140000
• Equity compensation in company stock‑option plan.
• Medical dental and vision insurance.
• Unlimited vacation policy.
• Cell phone stipend.

What We Do

Urban Sky's novel invention the high-altitude Microballoon™ leverages advances in component miniaturization and first-of-its-kind material re-usability to drastically reduce the cost of high-resolution remote sensing over broad targeted areas leading to more impactful data over more areas than ever before. The Microballoon™ is the first ever reusable stratospheric balloon. It's also the first ever precisely placeable remote sensing balloon. The Microballoon™ has a unique ability to image specific areas at desired times never before possible with stratospheric balloons. This capability is made possible by coupling advanced balloon design with a very small form factor enabling launch from virtually anywhere at any time with minimal personnel and equipment required. The Microballoon is also zero-emission making it the most sustainable way to image Planet Earth. Remote sensing from the stratosphere combines many of the benefits of both space-based assets and lower altitude airborne vehicles. That means remote sensing data can be collected from the Stratosphere over vast areas with aerial quality-resolution at the lowest possible cost. This unique combination of advantages will finally unlock the full commercial usefulness of the Stratosphere.

Why Work With Us

Our team consists of engineers makers developers and doers who believe in the power of human potential when passion meets utility within a small supportive team. At Urban Sky we are aiming to make stratospheric history in Denver and strive to create a team culture grounded in candor inclusion respect and empowerment.

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