Head of Hardware

Barrie, ON

R&D;

Full time

Oct 30, 2026

SKYCAN SYSTEMS INC.

CAPABILITY WITHOUT COMPROMISE

Head of Hardware

HW Division Lead — Digital, RF, Power & Payload Electronics

LOCATION

Central Ontario (onsite)

REPORTS TO

Chief Technology Officer

DIVISION

R&D; Department

WORK ARRANGEMENT

Onsite by default. Up to 2 days remote per week after the first 6 months, subject to controlled-data handling constraints and lab access. Full onsite presence during bring-up, qualification, and flight-test campaigns.

SECURITY REQUIREMENT

Must be eligible for security assessment under the Controlled Goods Program (CGP).

ABOUT SKYCAN

SkyCan Systems Inc. is a Canadian defence technology company building sovereign unmanned systems capabilities to protect Canada and its allies. Drawing on platforms proven in frontline operations in Ukraine, SkyCan is establishing Canadian manufacturing capacity to deliver operationally relevant systems backed by Canadian and allied supply chains. The company’s focus is on combining combat‑proven technology with domestic production, secure supply, and long‑term support to strengthen Canada’s defence industrial base and serve allied defence requirements. Our manufacturing facility is in Central Ontario, supported by a satellite office in Toronto. We are scaling from a small engineering core to a full production organization.

THE ROLE

This role defines the hardware roadmap and avionics architecture for SkyCan's autonomous UAV platforms, spanning flight control electronics, power, sensors, payload electronics, and datalink. You will lead, hire, and mentor PCB, RF, and lab technician staff as the division scales, own the electronics bill of materials and component strategy,



and establish hardware design assurance and environmental qualification practices.

You will direct hardware development from concept through mass production, including Design for Manufacturing, Design for Test, DVT/PVT campaigns, and production test strategy, coordinating with the other R&D; heads on integration, requirements, and production handoff.

WHAT YOU'LL OWN

- System architecture: Define the hardware roadmap and avionics architecture for autonomous UAV platforms — flight control electronics, power, sensors, payload electronics, and datalink. The roadmap must accommodate multiple propulsion architectures across programs (combustion on some platforms, electric on others), not a single company‑wide standard.
- Team leadership: Lead, hire, and mentor PCB, RF, and lab technician staff as the division scales. Run design reviews, own the hardware program schedule, and coordinate with the other R&D; heads — Software & Perception, Airframe & Mechanical, V&V;/Airworthiness and Safety, Systems, Manufacturing, and IT — on integration, requirements, and production handoff.
- BOM and component strategy: Own the electronics bill of materials and component selection, including supplier qualification, second‑sourcing, obsolescence management,



and support of SkyCan's domestic content targets and export‑control‑conscious sourcing.
- Safety and compliance: Establish hardware design assurance practices modelled after DO‑254. Plan environmental and EMI qualification to MIL‑STD‑810 and MIL‑STD‑461 methods.
- Lifecycle management: Direct hardware development from concept through mass production — Design for Manufacturing, Design for Test, DVT/PVT campaigns, and production test strategy.

WHAT YOU BRING — TECHNICAL

Proficiency levels indicate the depth expected in each area. Items marked Asset are not required.

- Digital electronics EXPERT: MCU‑based design (STM32 or similar), high‑speed digital design, and companion‑computer integration.
- PCB design and layout EXPERT: Multi‑layer stack‑up, signal integrity, controlled impedance routing, and EMI/EMC‑aware layout per IPC‑2221.
- Analog electronics DEEP: Precision analog signal conditioning (sensor front‑ends, ADC/DAC interfaces), low‑noise amplifier design, filtering for IMU/GNSS analog chains, mixed‑signal layout, and noise isolation.
- Avionics, sensors and payloads DEEP: IMU/GNSS/LiDAR nav‑sensor integration and design and customization of mission payload electronics. Fluency in I2C, SPI, UART, CAN, RS‑485, RS‑232, and Ethernet.
- Power distribution and electrical systems DEEP: High‑current distribution, thermal management of power stages, and energy budgeting against endurance and range targets across multiple propulsion architectures — battery‑electric (BMS, pack architecture and safety, power distribution boards, ESCs for BLDC motors) on some programs, combustion‑based power generation and distribution on others.
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📌 Head of Hardware (Barrie)
🏢 SkyCan Systems
📍 Barrie