Skyways

At Skyways, we are building the future of air transportation with fully autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Backed by significant funding, including a $37M STRATFI contract from the U.S. Air Force, we operate at the intersection of commercial and defense markets. We have designed, built, and flown aircraft with real customers and government partners, and are now entering the next phase of the company: scaling toward production. Based in Austin, TX and supported by top investors including Y Combinator, Skyways blends rapid iteration with real world deployment. We design, test, and operate our systems in the field, then bring those learnings directly back into engineering and product decisions. As we grow, we are looking for builders and leaders who want real ownership, technical depth, and the opportunity to help take an aircraft from successful deployments to full production. The Opportunity Skyways is at a critical inflection point, scaling from early production to mass deployment of autonomous aerial vehicles. We are hiring a VP of Finance to build and lead the financial foundation of the company. This is your chance to define the systems, strategy, and discipline that will enable Skyways to scale rapidly while maintaining operational and financial excellence. You’ll work closely with the executive team, investors, and government partners while rolling up your sleeves to own the details of accounting, audits, and financial operations. What You’ll Do: Build and manage Skyways’ financial systems, processes, and controls from the ground up. Own accounting, reporting, budgeting, forecasting, and compliance. Partner with leadership on strategic financing, pricing models, and long-term planning. Support fundraising strategy and investor relations, leveraging your network and credibility to strengthen Skyways’ market presence. Lead financial operations for defense and government contracts, ensuring accuracy and compliance. Manage audits and maintain investor- and audit-ready systems. Oversee financial tools and infrastructure. Provide data-driven insights and guidance to inform executive decisions. What You’ll Bring:

• Own, with the VP, the end-to-end certification and validation strategy for Skyways aircraft and operations, from early regulatory engagement through approval. • Serve as a technical and strategic interface with aviation authorities (FAA, EASA, and other global regulators), leading familiarization briefings, technical interchange meetings, and certification roadmap alignment. • Lead development of certification artifacts, including certification bases, White Papers, Means of Compliance, Issue Papers, and Instructions for Continued Airworthiness. • Provide authoritative guidance across engineering, manufacturing, maintenance, and operations to ensure design and program decisions align with certification and operational approval outcomes. • Represent Skyways in international standards bodies and working groups, influencing emerging UAS standards and policy to enable future operations and market access.

• Design, implement, and tune flight control algorithms for autonomous fixed‑wing and VTOL aircraft. • Own control laws end to end, including requirements definition, simulation, flight code, and validation. • Develop and maintain control system models in simulation environments to support analysis and testing. • Analyze flight test data and logs to diagnose issues and improve performance. • Collaborate closely with avionics, autonomy, mechanical, and flight test teams to integrate and validate control systems. • Support ground and flight testing, including on‑site test campaigns when needed. • Continuously improve robustness, fault tolerance, and performance across a growing operational envelope.