--- title: 'Air Operations Specialist at HavocAI' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/air-operations-specialist-havocai-san-diego-7n2dra88xd39' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-10' --- # Air Operations Specialist at HavocAI - **Company:** HavocAI - **Location:** San Diego, CA - **Compensation:** $130k–$155k - **Employment:** full-time - **Work type:** hybrid - **Posted:** 2026-07-16 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-10 - **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/havocai/f096fe80-4386-4d4a-8f7d-7ca30a6cd622 ## Job description About Us: Havoc is a leader in all-domain collaborative autonomy. Its software-defined hardware approach powers military and commercial-grade autonomous systems across sea, air, and land to sense, decide, and act together in complex and contested environments. Havoc connects assets, enabling them to share information, adapt in real time, and continue operating even when communications are disrupted or denied. Havoc optimizes mission performance and minimizes human risk. Havoc was founded in 2024 and headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island. Learn more at [Havoc: All-Domain Collaborative Autonomy](http://havocai.com/) . ## About the Role Havoc AI's Mission Operations (MOPS) team deploys alongside military customers to operate autonomous drone systems in real-world environments—from live operational events like Overwatch to hardware and software development test events and customer demonstrations. The Air Operations Specialist is the person on the ground making that happen. This is a field-first role. You'll plan and execute drone operations, integrate directly with military units, and serve as the human bridge between Havoc AI's technology and the operators who depend on it. When you're not in the field, you'll support the broader MOPS team in testing, iteration, and continuous product improvement. You don't need to be a software engineer, but you do need to learn quickly, operate with discipline, and thrive in ambiguous environments alongside a technically deep team and senior military leadership. Drones aren't just a job requirement here—the right candidate already flies them recreationally and has the experience to show for it. ## What You'll Do - Deploy to live events and exercises to operate small UAS systems, integrate with military units, and ensure mission success in the field. - Plan, coordinate, and brief drone operations to military customers and internal stakeholders, ranging from small teams to senior military leadership. - Support hardware and software development through operational test events and customer demonstrations, providing real-world operator feedback to engineering teams. - Serve as a trusted interface with military customers, understanding operational needs and translating them into actionable inputs for Mission Operations and Product teams. - Identify operational gaps, surface issues, and contribute to refining tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) for autonomous systems. - Collaborate across the Mission Operations team, contributing wherever needed to support the mission while maintaining a team-first mindset. ## What We're Looking For Required Qualifications - Hands-on experience with military drone systems and operational employment tactics. - Demonstrated experience planning and briefing operations. - Personal passion for small UAS beyond a professional setting, including recreational flying, building or modifying platforms, or active involvement in the drone community. - Hands-on experience with open-source autopilot systems such as ArduPilot, PX4, or equivalent, including configuration, troubleshooting, and tuning. - Familiarity with common ground control station (GCS) platforms such as Mission Planner, QGroundControl, or similar, including flight log analysis. - Understanding of RF fundamentals, link budget considerations, and basic electronics as they relate to UAS. - Willingness to obtain an FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate if not already certified. - Ability and willingness to travel approximately 30% of the time, including potential overseas deployments. - Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to engage in both informal collaboration and formal military briefings. Mindset & Attributes - Leads through influence rather than authority, earning trust by delivering value. - Humble and mission-focused, willing to do whatever is needed to support the team, whether running logistics or briefing senior military leaders. - Independent thinker who respects and operates within established chains of command. - Continuous learner who stays current as technology and operational tactics rapidly evolve. - Enjoys working outdoors and operating in austere field environments. - Comfortable with ambiguity and able to balance independent initiative with close team collaboration. ## Preferred Qualifications - Active FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate. - Experience with autonomous or AI-enabled UAS platforms. - Familiarity with Command and Control (C2) software and ground control station interfaces. - Previous experience in a defense technology company, startup, or other non-traditional military environment. - Experience supporting operational testing, customer demonstrations, or technology evaluations. Benefits: - 100% Employer paid Health, Dental and Vision Insurance for you and your families - Life Insurance (Employer Paid) - Ability to participate in the companies 401k program (Matching) - Unlimited PTO policy with an enforced 2 week minimum - Equity Package - Work / Home Office Stipend - Global Entry - 16 Week Paid Parental Leave - Monthly Health and Wellness Stipend Our Values: - Innovation: We are driven to break new ground. Every day presents an opportunity to challenge the status quo, think boldly, and deliver advanced solutions that transform the future of defense technology. - Integrity: We hold ourselves to the highest ethical standards, ensuring transparency, accountability, and trust in all our actions and partnerships. - Mission-Driven: We are focused on achieving impactful outcomes that align with our core mission—protecting lives through innovation. - Forward-Leaning: We continuously seek out new opportunities and remain at the forefront of technological advancements. We embrace change and anticipate the challenges of tomorrow with confidence and creativity. - Ownership of All Tasks: At HavocAI, no problem is too complex or too trivial. We believe that greatness comes from tackling the hardest challenges, but also in handling the smallest, sometimes thankless, tasks with the same level of commitment and care. - Servant Leadership: We lead by serving others, whether it’s supporting our employees, partners, or the broader community. Empowering those around us is key to achieving long-term success and making a lasting impact. HavocAI is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to creating an inclusive and diverse workplace. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected status. ## About HavocAI ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: HavocAI builds collaborative autonomy software that enables a single human operator to supervise thousands of autonomous assets across sea, air, and land in contested environments. - **Entity Type**: Private (Series A) - **Headquarters**: Providence, Rhode Island, United States - **Founded**: 2024 - **Founders**: Paul Lwin (CEO) and Joe Turner (COO) ## Core Business - **Primary industry/industries**: Defense and Space Manufacturing, Autonomous Systems, Maritime Security - **Target customers**: U.S. Navy, Army, and allied defense forces; commercial maritime security operators - **Mission or purpose statement**: "Minimize human risk in the world's most unstable environments, removing humans from the dull, dirty, and dangerous." ## Products & Services - **Havoc C2**: An intuitive command-and-control interface that lets operators define intent and direct large numbers of autonomous assets across distributed systems, scaling complex multi-asset missions without proportional increases in manpower. - **Havoc Connect**: A resilient peer-to-peer overlay network for data exchange across DDIL (Disrupted, Disconnected, Intermittent, Limited) networks, enabling systems to exchange commands, telemetry, and mission data even when connectivity is intermittent or degraded. - **Havoc OS**: An operating system for autonomous systems at the edge, enabling heterogeneous platforms to carry out collaborative missions, adapt to changing conditions, and continue operating in DDIL environments. - **Havoc Insights**: An intelligence layer that fuses AI and analytics, ingesting real-time data streams from vehicles, sensors, and system services to surface insights, trends, and anomalies for mission-level decision support. ## Market Standing - **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed - **Key Metric**: Total Funding of $197.2M across three rounds (Seed, two Series A tranches) - **Notable Investors/Partners**: Scout Ventures, Trousdale Ventures, IQT (lead Series A), Azak (MOU for autonomous ground systems) - **Growth Signals**: Headcount grew 221.3% year-over-year to 98 employees; acquired Mavrik in March 2026; over 25,000 hours of autonomous operations; 11 active job postings with quarterly growth of +10.0% ## Competitive Advantages - **Software-defined autonomy**: Havoc's platform is platform-agnostic, integrating with existing vehicles, sensors, and C2 networks without major redesigns, making it interoperable across sea, air, and land domains. - **Human-on-the-loop architecture**: Enables a single operator to supervise thousands of autonomous assets, dramatically reducing manpower requirements for complex multi-asset missions. - **DDIL resilience**: Havoc Connect creates a resilient peer-to-peer overlay network that maintains operations even when communications are disrupted, intermittent, or denied — a critical capability for contested military environments. - **Proven track record**: Over 25,000 hours of autonomous operations, validated through real-world exercises with U.S. Navy and Army stakeholders. ## Strategic Focus - **All-domain collaborative autonomy**: Scaling from maritime to air and land domains, enabling heterogeneous platforms to work together seamlessly. - **Fully adaptive maritime autonomy**: Building systems that can anticipate, collaborate, and make independent decisions in dynamic environments. - **International expansion**: Head of Europe appointed (Theodora Dell), indicating a push into allied defense markets. - **Ground systems expansion**: MOU with Azak to produce high mobility autonomous ground systems, diversifying beyond maritime. ## Why Work Here - **Mission-driven work**: Employees work on cutting-edge autonomy technology that directly reduces human risk in dangerous environments — "removing humans from the dull, dirty, and dangerous." - **Strong growth trajectory**: 221.3% headcount growth year-over-year, with $197.2M in total funding, indicating a well-capitalized, scaling organization. - **Comprehensive benefits**: 100% employer-paid medical, dental, and vision for employees and families; stock options; 16 weeks fully paid parental leave; unlimited PTO with a two-week enforced minimum; monthly wellness stipend; home office stipend; 401(k) program; Global Entry reimbursement. - **Work model**: Remote and hybrid options available, with corporate HQ, test, and production facilities in Providence, RI. Open roles also listed in Honolulu, HI and San Diego, CA. - **Engineering culture**: Deep technical challenges in autonomy, robotics, edge computing, and defense-grade software. Team includes talent from US Navy, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Anduril, Shield AI, and Lockheed Martin. ## Sources 1. [havocai.com](https://www.havocai.com/) 2. [havocai.com/careers](https://havocai.com/careers) 3. [havocai.com/about](https://havocai.com/about) 4. [linkedin.com/company/havocai](https://www.linkedin.com/company/havocai) 5. 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