Mechatronics Engineer

Every drone and robot is limited by the energy it can store, every satellite by the sunlight it can catch. Help us rewrite the rules with a beam of light.

About Aquila Space Technologies:

Aquila Space Technologies is building the world's first wireless energy network - transmitting power via light to sectors that traditional grid infrastructure simply can't reach. Think electric aircraft charged in-flight, power beamed across borders for international energy arbitrage, or remote infrastructure that's never been grid-connected. Founded in Sydney in 2022, Aquila is on a mission to democratise energy accessibility at a global scale.

Backed by world-class investors - Blackbird, Possible Ventures, Icehouse Ventures, Startmate, and the Australian Government's Industry Growth Program - Aquila is coming off a landmark period of successful product demonstrations and is now accelerating toward commercialisation. We've been featured in Smart Company, RenewEconomy, and named to the Top 100 Innovators list in both 2024 and 2025.

We're a team of builders, engineers, and "Eagles" who believe the only limits worth accepting are the laws of physics. Every person here owns their work end-to-end, drives real outcomes, and has a hand in shaping what this company becomes.

Our Values:

⚡ Move at Lightspeed

🔬 Physics Over Precedent

🌐 Design THE Network

💛 Care Deeply, Own Fully

🔥 Laser Set to Max

The Role:

As our Mechatronics Engineer, you own the motion.

You'll architect the motors, actuators, drives, and control systems that let us point an invisible laser to within millimetres of a drone flying kilometres away - and keep it there while everything moves. Working alongside mechanical, electronics, firmware, optics, and laser engineers, your job is to make the whole system move accurately and reliably.

This is deep tech with no playbook. We're building something the world has never seen, where the textbook answers run out and the interesting problems begin. Every subsystem is being invented - and yours sets the precision the entire product is built on.

What You'll Do:

• Design and tune MIMO controllers, observers, and estimators behind high-accuracy tracking at long range
• Select, size, and integrate motors, drives, gearing, and sensors — with a sharp eye for what decides whether a system hits its accuracy and speed targets
• Design, build, and validate high-accuracy test rigs that simulate laser beam infringement with microsecond-level repeatability

What You'll Bring:

• Deep, applied experience in real-world motion control — designing, tuning, and validating control systems on physical hardware
• Strong command of mechatronics fundamentals: motors, drives, sensors, and the mechanical–electrical–control trade-offs that decide whether a system actually performs
• Enough breadth to work fluently with specialists across firmware (C/C++ on real-time MCUs), electronics, and low-level comms (CAN, SPI, I2C, UART) — you don't need to own these domains, but you need to speak their language
• The judgement to build real-time systems where there's no precedent — knowing when to reason from first principles and when "good enough, shipped" is the right call
• A bias for action: you're energised by problems you haven't solved before, comfortable being wrong on the way to being right, and you know that shipping and iterating beats waiting for the perfect plan

Interested in relocating to Australia? Check out our comprehensive Relocation Jobs in Australia page with detailed relocation packages and benefits.

• A genuine team player who builds trust across disciplines, explains reasoning clearly, and makes the people around you better

Perks & Benefits

Everyone's an owner. In addition to excellent base compensation, every team member holds equity in the company - so we all share in the success we're building together.

Generous parental leave. We offer eight weeks of paid parental leave above the government-allocated amount, because we know the people who matter at home matter here too.

Relocation budget & support. Support for interstate or overseas team members and their families (including pets!).

Flexible working hours and location. While we often enjoy shooting lasers around in our fully decked-out laser facilities, if there are days when we can work from anywhere, then we feel free to work from anywhere!

Generous Personal Leave. At Aquila, we recognise that sometimes you need time off to recuperate, look after your mental health, or deal with an emergency. We provide unlimited (within reason) personal leave to empower you to bring your best self to work every day, and you are always paid for days taken off as personal leave.

$1,000 annual personal budget. Spend it on side projects, health, gadgets, courses, or anything else that helps you grow outside of work.

Company-wide social events. From offsite hiking and skiing through stunning Australian landscapes to annual end-of-year celebrations - we invest in time together.

A great place to actually work. Great, decked-out office! An inclusive community and culture in a welcoming office with lasers, cutting-edge hardware, snacks, and actual tech you can tinker with (within the bounds of safety).