About the role
Chief Engineer — Occam Industries
Kyiv, Full-Time
Occam Industries applies AI to Ukraine's drone fleet, flying on live combat missions. We are partnered with some of the major OEMs and brigades in Ukraine, and our AI is also deployed on EU platforms. We were built on a simple premise: deterrence is proven in the field, not built in a laboratory. We're hiring a Chief Engineer who wants to keep building, not step away from it.
This role leads our Pilot and Platform engineering teams — not through day-to-day people management or payroll, but through architecture, product decisions, and direct technical leadership. You'll work with the product team to shape what gets built, own system architecture across flight autopilot and hardware/platform layers, and drive both teams to ship. A CTO sits above this role to handle strategy, business, and financing — this position exists so that whoever holds it can stay close to the code and the customer instead of being pulled upward into the business.
We expect this to be a genuinely split role: roughly half your time in the codebase, hands-on, because the team won't respect — or follow — someone who can't. The other half is spent making architectural and product calls, leading the teams, and hiring. If you want a senior role that still means being one of the best engineers in the building, this is it.
What we're looking for
- Deep hands-on engineering ability — you need to be credible in the codebase, not just above it
- Experience owning system architecture across complex, hardware-adjacent software systems
- A track record of driving engineering teams to ship, without relying on formal management authority
- Comfort working closely with product and OEM stakeholders on real-world tradeoffs
- A build-first mentality — this is not a strategy or business-facing role
- Bilingual English / Ukrainian is a bonus but not necessary, basic English skills is a must
What you get
- Top-of-market compensation plus equity
- A senior technical role explicitly structured to keep you building and close to the customer
- Direct influence over the architecture and product driving Occam's AI into combat
- We are able to discuss reservations for critical candidates with significant experience
Interview process
- After submitting the application, you will be emailed a pre-screening form to complete.
- Typically a four stage interview process that will complete within one to two weeks.
- Offer conditional on background check by security services.
We are well funded by EU governments and defence primes. Based in Kyiv.