Aerospace AI Startup Jobs

Defense technology company building autonomous systems and AI-powered defense capabilities to transform military and border security operations.

Defense AI company building autonomous aircraft and AI pilot technology for military applications.

CesiumAstro builds communications systems and phased-array hardware/software for space, air, and ground missions, supporting satellite and defense connectivity use cases.

Develops autonomous spacecraft, advanced payloads, and space-based interceptor systems for orbital defense and space superiority capabilities.

Vast is a US-based commercial space company building human-rated artificial-gravity orbital space stations, starting with its single-module Haven-1 station targeted as the world's first commercial space station. Founded by Jed McCaleb and headquartered in Long Beach, California ('Space Beach'), the company designs and manufactures its spacecraft hardware in-house. It is racing to provide a commercial successor to the International Space Station.

A defense technology company specializing in counter-drone radar and other defense solutions.

Hadrian builds AI-enabled autonomous factories that manufacture precision components and systems for aerospace, defense, shipbuilding, and other industrial customers, combining software, robotics, machining, inspection, and factory operations.

Helsing is a European defense AI company building autonomy software and hardware for democratic nations. It develops real-time battlefield decision software, AI-enabled drones, and sensor fusion systems for military applications across NATO allies. Founded in 2021, it has grown to become one of Europe's most valuable defense tech startups with a $12B+ valuation.

Autonomous drone manufacturer building AI-powered drones for defense, public safety, and enterprise inspection.

Varda Space Industries builds orbital manufacturing and reentry platforms that produce materials in the unique microgravity environment of space. The company's W-Series reentry capsules are used to manufacture pharmaceuticals and other products that benefit from weightlessness. Founded in 2021, Varda is establishing the first scaled industrial operations off Earth.

Defense technology company building unmanned defense systems and distributed manufacturing.

Apex is a defense-grade satellite bus manufacturer producing configurable, productized spacecraft platforms (Aries, Nova, Comet) for LEO, MEO, and GEO orbits. The Los Angeles-based company serves commercial and sovereign government customers at scale with peak annual capacity exceeding 200 units per year. Apex launched Project Shadow, the first commercially-led on-orbit space-based interceptor demonstration.

Radiant is pioneering mass-produced portable nuclear microreactors, with its flagship Kaleidos reactor delivering 1 MW of clean, zero-emission power in a shipping container-sized form factor. Valued at $1.8 billion, the company is building its factory in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

Northwood Space designs and manufactures electronically steered phased-array ground stations that enable scalable, rapidly deployable satellite communication and tracking infrastructure. The company serves commercial and government customers including a $50M U.S. Space Force contract to modernize the Satellite Control Network.

Inversion Space is turning space into a transportation layer for Earth by building autonomous re-entry vehicles that enable precision delivery of cargo to anywhere on the planet in under an hour, creating an on-demand logistics network in Low-Earth Orbit.

The Nuclear Company operates as America's deployment platform for nuclear power, constructing a series of nuclear power plants using a design-once, build-many approach with proven and licensed technology to deliver safe and reliable electricity at the lowest cost.

Stoke Space Technologies develops the fully and rapidly reusable Nova rocket designed to operate with aircraft-like frequency. Founded by former Blue Origin and SpaceX employees, raised over $1.3B.

PhysicsX is an AI company accelerating industrial innovation by combining AI-driven multiphysics inference with numerical simulation to improve the design, manufacturing, and operation of complex products. Founded in 2019 by former Formula 1 engineers, the platform serves enterprises across aerospace, defense, automotive, semiconductors, and energy sectors. PhysicsX raised over $155M including investments from NVIDIA, Atomico, and Temasek.

Kepler Communications is a Toronto-based satellite connectivity operator building a global low-Earth orbit constellation for broadband and IoT connectivity. The company deploys optical inter-satellite links and is expanding into orbital AI compute via Nvidia Orin chips. Founded in 2015, Kepler has raised over $177M to connect space-borne and ground assets worldwide.

Antares is developing mass-producible, inherently safe nuclear microreactors for terrestrial, underwater, and space-based applications, producing between 100 kilowatts and 1 megawatt of electricity. The company has a 145,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Torrance, California and is on track to achieve first reactor criticality by mid-2026. Founded by alumni of SpaceX, MIT, and Los Alamos National Lab, Antares is backed by over $130 million in venture capital and government funding.

Defense technology company building AI-powered software for national security missions.

Array Labs builds high-power, low-cost space radar systems and a formation-flying radar constellation for large-scale 3D Earth imaging and persistent monitoring.

Pacific Fusion is building a high-gain pulsed magnetic fusion system designed to achieve net facility gain, delivering more fusion energy output than all stored energy input. The company develops affordable, modular fusion technology using common materials to provide abundant, clean energy for a prosperous planet.

NODA AI is an AI-native defense company building autonomy orchestration software that enables command and control of mixed autonomous and manned assets across multi-domain military operations. Its platform serves as a vendor-agnostic reasoning layer coordinating heterogeneous autonomous systems for the Department of Defense and allied defense customers.

Lynk Global operates a satellite direct-to-device (D2D) network that connects standard, unmodified mobile phones directly to low-Earth-orbit satellites for messaging and planned voice/data. It holds an FCC commercial D2D license and partners with mobile network operators to extend coverage beyond terrestrial cell towers. In early 2025 it raised strategic Series B investment from satellite operators SES and Intelsat; its earlier SPAC merger with Slam Corp was mutually terminated.

Machina Labs develops AI-powered robotic manufacturing systems for sheet metal forming and industrial production, reducing the need for traditional tooling.

Builds containerized, forward-deployable drone manufacturing units that can 3D-print unmanned aerial systems in under 24 hours at or near the front line.

Defense technology company providing software platform for military logistics and field operations optimization.

Taara develops free-space optical communication technology that delivers high-speed connectivity through narrow beams of light instead of fiber or radio spectrum. Spun out of X, Alphabet's Moonshot Factory, the company builds optical wireless systems and photonics technology for expanding broadband infrastructure.

Tomorrow.io delivers weather intelligence software and proprietary weather data products for aviation, defense, logistics, and enterprise operations.

Catalyx Space builds orbital logistics infrastructure, combining spacecraft, software, and operations to move experiments and manufactured payloads to orbit and back. The company focuses on reusable capsules and faster, more predictable in-space deployment and downmass services.

Represents X-Bow Systems, which develops additive-manufactured solid rocket motors and modular launch services for defense and space customers.

Efficient Computer builds the world's most energy-efficient general-purpose processor, the Electron E1, offering up to 100x greater efficiency than traditional CPUs. Spun out of Carnegie Mellon University, their Fabric architecture minimizes data movement, enabling applications in AI, edge computing, space, defense, and consumer devices.

Starcloud is building orbital data-center infrastructure to provide large-scale compute capacity in space, leveraging abundant solar power and passive cooling.

Airbound builds the world's most efficient delivery drones, developing advanced autonomous aircraft using blended-wing-body designs for ultra-low-cost logistics. Founded by 20-year-old Naman Pushp, the Bengaluru-based company aims to achieve one-cent drone deliveries at scale, serving medical, defense, and industrial applications.

Axion (formerly Axion Ray) is an AI-powered quality intelligence platform for manufacturers. It unifies field, service, and design data to detect, investigate, and resolve product quality issues earlier and cut root-cause analysis time. Customers span industrial, aerospace, consumer, and medtech manufacturing, including Daikin, Harley-Davidson, and SharkNinja.

Skyryse develops SkyOS, a universal operating system for flight, and is bringing software-defined avionics and autonomy to existing and new aircraft platforms.

AI-driven manufacturing platform that automates the creation and management of model-based work instructions from CAD files. BuildOS generates 3D animations of assembly steps, reducing documentation time from weeks to hours.

Grid Aero builds autonomous cargo aircraft for long-range, high-payload logistics solutions serving both military and commercial applications with rapid development cycles.

Substrate is America's next-generation semiconductor foundry, developing advanced X-ray lithography technology to challenge industry giants like ASML and TSMC. Founded by brothers James and Oliver Proud, the company uses compact particle accelerators to enable more cost-effective and rapid chip manufacturing in the United States. Backed by Founders Fund, General Catalyst, and In-Q-Tel, Substrate aims to restore American leadership in semiconductor production.

Sunflower Labs builds autonomous drone-based security systems that combine robotics, sensors, and software to monitor residential, commercial, and industrial properties.

Electronic warfare company building AI-driven software and hardware—incl. SIGINT payloads and autonomous drones—for spectrum dominance.

MatrixSpace develops AI-enabled 4D radar sensing and edge-to-cloud situational awareness software for defense, security, and critical infrastructure applications.

Morpheus Space develops electric propulsion systems and mobility solutions for satellites, including modular thrusters for commercial and government space missions.

Voliro develops autonomous aerial robotics for industrial inspections, combining a drone platform, tiltable payload system, and software for high-value asset inspection workflows.

Aetherflux develops space-based solar power systems that collect energy in orbit and transmit it to Earth.

Airloom Energy is reinventing wind power with a novel, low-profile track-based turbine system that dramatically reduces the cost and complexity of harnessing wind energy. Backed by Bill Gates' Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Lowercarbon Capital, the Laramie, Wyoming-based startup is developing a pilot facility to demonstrate its modular wind technology. Airloom's design uses lightweight airfoils on an oval track, offering a simpler and more affordable alternative to traditional wind turbines.

Provides AI-powered mapping tools like Farsight to help defense teams generate 3D terrain and plan missions.

1001 is a GCC- and London-based deep-tech startup building a localized, sovereign AI operating system for critical physical infrastructure — aviation, ports, shipping, and energy. Its platform builds live operational models of complex systems to predict failures, automate high-stakes decisions, and optimize physical workflows. Founded by ex-Scale AI operator Bilal Abu-Ghazaleh, it embeds forward-deployed engineers with Gulf infrastructure operators.

Applied Atomics is a US-based deep-tech startup that develops and operates full-stack nuclear power plants (100MW–1GW) for industrial customers, delivering dispatchable, carbon-free electricity through long-term power purchase agreements. Founded by former SpaceX and aerospace leaders, it vertically integrates Gen III+ reactor technology with in-house plant engineering, supply chain, and operations to speed deployment and lower cost. It raised an $8.3M Seed round in March 2026 led by Transition, bringing total funding to roughly $12M.

AstroForge is a deep-space mining company focused on extracting valuable metals from asteroids, particularly platinum group metals (PGMs) and critical minerals. The company develops technology to locate, reach, and mine asteroids to provide sustainable resources for Earth and space industries.

Fusion energy startup developing modular micro-fusion reactors for compact, scalable clean power and propulsion applications.

A venture-backed defense tech company building mass-producible hypersonic weapons systems using modern hardware development and manufacturing processes.

Fortastra builds intelligent, maneuverable spacecraft designed to protect government and commercial satellites through remote sensing, autonomous capabilities, and defensive rendezvous and proximity operations. The company targets satellite security, space infrastructure resilience, and operational risk in contested orbital environments. It is headquartered in Torrance, California.

Deep-tech mining and energy startup developing proprietary laser-based drilling systems to unlock Europe's critical minerals and geothermal energy at extreme depths. Building Europe's first technology-driven mining and energy platform with plans to begin selling European-mined critical raw materials by 2029.

LeydenJar develops and produces pure silicon anodes for energy-dense batteries, enabling 70% more energy storage while reducing CO2 emissions by 85% with 7-minute charging capability.

Nominal provides the connected hardware test stack used to capture telemetry, validate systems, and ship complex hardware faster. Its software supports aerospace, defense, and industrial teams running mission-critical test and operations workflows.

NovoLINC develops breakthrough nanostructured thermal interface materials for AI computing, data centers, and high-power electronics. Its proprietary technology achieves 10X lower thermal resistance than conventional materials, enabling better heat dissipation for next-generation semiconductor chips and cooling critical AI infrastructure.

Climate data company deploying high-altitude balloons to gather atmospheric measurements and improve weather forecasting models.