Powertrain Engineering Lead

Khageshvara Aviation Technology Private Limited Location: Jaipur, Rajasthan Type: Full-time, on-site Department: Propulsion Seniority: Lead Reporting: CEO About the Company Khageshvara Aviation Technology Private Limited is building indigenous unmanned eVTOL and VTOL aircraft platforms from India for defence, logistics, disaster response, and future advanced air mobility applications. Our vision is to make sustainable aviation practical for high-payload, high-altitude, and mission-critical use cases where conventional mobility is slow, expensive, or unavailable. We are working toward a future where aircraft can support medical logistics, defence mobility, emergency response, industrial operations, and eventually urban and regional air mobility.

We are not assembling reference drones. We design, build, test, break, learn, and fly our own aircraft, with the goal of creating reliable Indian aviation systems that can scale from prototype to production. About the Role This is one of our first senior engineering hires.

The person joining this role will help define the technical standards, engineering discipline, and powertrain architecture that future teams will build upon. The work is hands-on and execution-driven. It will involve rapid prototyping, bench testing, propulsion test-rig development, flight-line validation, and constant iteration between design, analysis, manufacturing, and real flight data.

You will own how the aircraft stores energy and turns it into thrust: motors, ESCs, propellers, battery packs, BMS, wiring, thermal design, and vehicle-level powertrain trade-offs. This role is best suited for someone who can operate independently, lead from first principles, and treat propulsion performance and battery safety as core aircraft-design problems. Key Responsibilities Size and design electric propulsion systems end to end, including BLDC/PMSM motors, ESCs, propellers, wiring, connectors, and system-level integration.

Design battery packs from cell selection through pack architecture, BMS integration, protection strategy, wiring, thermal design, and safety validation. Build aircraft energy models covering endurance, range, reserve, payload trade-offs, mass impact, and mission-level power requirements. Design and operate propulsion test rigs, thrust stands, and data-collection setups to characterise motor-propeller combinations with real measurements.

Own thermal management across the propulsion and battery system, including battery safety and thermal runaway risk as first-order design concerns. Evaluate hybrid or range-extension architectures where they make sense for mission requirements, aircraft mass, and operational constraints. Candidate Profile Strong fundamentals in electric drives, battery systems, power electronics, thermal management, and hands-on test validation.

Understanding of electric propulsion systems for aircraft, drones, EVs, robotics, or other high-power electric platforms. Practical knowledge of lithium battery cells, pack design, BMS behaviour, wiring, protection, balancing, and safety practices. Comfort with energy modelling, thermal modelling, test planning, data logging, and bench validation.

Background in Electrical, Mechanical, Aerospace, Chemical Engineering, or a closely related field. B.Tech, M.Tech, or PhD preferred. Prior hands-on exposure to eVTOLs, VTOLs, fixed-wing UAVs, multirotors, or serious drone powertrains is strongly preferred.

Strong plus: You have built, tested, flown, or repaired your own power systems, battery packs, or propulsion rigs, and can distinguish real test data from marketing claims. What We Offer Competitive compensation aligned with the responsibility of an early senior engineering role. ESOP eligibility as part of the founding team structure, subject to company policy and final approval.

Ownership of real aircraft powertrain hardware, not just calculations or vendor selection. Direct involvement in vehicle architecture, test strategy, flight readiness, and long-term product direction. Who Can Apply We prefer candidates with B.Tech, M.Tech, or PhD qualifications in a relevant discipline.

However, a strong portfolio, practical engineering ability, and proven hands-on work may outweigh formal credentials.