Science and Technology Lead - Enduring Atmospheric Platforms

Description

£70,000, £90,000, £105,000 (offers will be calibrated on benchmarked experience levels and assessment against our selection criteria)

Discretionary

Kings X, London;
Tues
- Thurs (3 days) at HQ, Monday + Friday, anywhere

Full-time

Permanent

About ARIAARIA is a new R&D funding agency built to unlock technological breakthroughs that benefit everyone. We fund scientists and engineers to pursue research at the edge of the possible.

Final date to receive applications: 6 September 2026

Department:
Programmes

Location:

London

Compensation: £70,000 - £105,000 / year

Salary Levels: £70,000, £90,000, £105,000 (offers will be calibrated on benchmarked experience levels and assessment against our selection criteria)

Bonus:
Discretionary

Location:

Kings X, London;
Tues
- Thurs (3 days) at HQ, Monday + Friday, anywhere

Employment Type:

Full-time

Contract:

Permanent

About ARIAARIA is a new R&D funding agency built to unlock technological breakthroughs that benefit everyone. We fund scientists and engineers to pursue research at the edge of the possible.

From climate change to AI, society faces enormous challenges and opportunities that can be uniquely addressed by science and technology. ARIA was created to activate the UK’s world-class R&D in new ways, so we can meet these head on.

Our success is shaped by one question: how will ARIA transform the lives of the UK’s future generations? Whether that’s a life-changing new technology or a burgeoning new industry, it should be obvious that ARIA played a catalytic role.

If you want to help make breakthroughs like these possible, come and build ARIA with us.

Learn more here.

As an ARIA Science and Technology Lead, you will have the rare chance to catalyse breakthroughs that could change the world. You'll sit alongside Programme Director Rico Chandra and their Programme Specialist, Caitlin Kubala, on ARIA's Enduring Atmospheric Platforms programme. You’ll be exposed to every aspect of the programme's technical management from design through approval, project selection, and delivery.

Your impact will extend beyond a single programme; you will play a key role in strengthening the wider Adaptive Machines opportunity space, with a deep, evolving understanding of programmes and projects over time. As Programme Directors join the opportunity space and new programmes are launched, you will surface insights that build on existing ARIA-funded technologies, accelerate discovery, and turn past lessons into future breakthroughs, maximising impact across the portfolio.

We’re looking for an adaptable technical professional who’s strongly motivated by the opportunity to catalyse a technological step change. You’ll be working in a bold, talented, and agile team, funding projects (‘Creators’) across the entire R&D ecosystem, from startups to universities, in the pursuit of groundbreaking advancements that will shape the future of science and technology.

Rico Chandra is a member of ARIA’s second cohort of Programme Directors. Rico is an entrepreneur and competitive cross-country paraglider pilot with a PhD in physics. He has co-founded hardware startups, worked on several DARPA Programs, advised governments on technology innovation, and worked in Venture Capital.

I’m definitely more of a hardware than software person. I’m looking for a partner to lead this exciting programme with high EQ and a broad technical reach, especially in areas like UAV systems engineering, regulation related to flight testing, applied physics, non-terrestrial communications, and the software relevant to this ambitious programme. Join me for what may be the most exciting years of your career.

Rico Chandra, Programme Director

The scope of the role will evolve as ARIA continues to grow, but will broadly involve the following:

• Act as the technical lead, with the Programme Director and their Programme Specialist, to shape and deliver a bold programme of research aimed at delivering high altitude platforms that can reliably and cost effectively provide regional broadband connectivity.
• Review project proposals, grant applications, assess technical…