This company is not for everyone. This note is meant to help you decide whether the work and the way we work are right for you.
What we're building at Sorian Aerospace is hard. It requires deep technical skill, direct ownership, fast learning, and a willingness to work across disciplines.
We're not chasing vertical-takeoff gimmicks or electric air taxis. We're not shipping MVPs or building PowerPoint startups. We're here to reclaim America's place as a leader in aviation, and that takes a different kind of team.
Working at Sorian means:
- Extreme ownership
- Deep, hands-on technical skill
- A bias toward action
- And a willingness to be dropped into the deep end, fast
We value velocity, not optics.
Hard problems you solved before, not your credentials.
Execution, not hierarchy.
Our operating tenets are simple:
Fly it higher. Fly it faster. Fly it hotter. Find the limit. Break it. Fix it. Try again.
We don't over-analyze. We don't spin in meetings. We put designs into the real world and learn by building.
We're engineers. We're pilots. We've seen the decay of the aviation industry firsthand, and we're not here to complain. We're here to fix it. We want to see this change in the world, so we're building it ourselves.
That’s why we work long hours. We make sacrifices.
We trade comfort for speed and excellence.
We’re not just dreaming of the future. We’re building it.
If that lights a fuse in you, read on. If not, close the tab. No hard feelings.
The Current State
America was once the pioneer of aeronautics manufacturing, the birthplace of legendary corporations and airliners.
The nation that gave the world the Boeing 747, the SR-71 Blackbird, the F-117 Nighthawk, and the ubiquitous Cessna 172.
We were the leaders, setting standards, breaking records, and turning ambitious ideas into aircraft. We didn't just lead the aviation industry; we helped define it.
But those days are gone.
France's Airbus is leading the commercial aviation sector with over 60% market share.
China has surged ahead, leading in 37 out of 44 critical technologies, including hypersonics and advanced aircraft engines.
In our military aviation, only half of the supposedly cutting-edge F-35 fighters are mission-capable, as revealed in recent congressional testimony.
Today, many American aircraft manufacturers have become assemblers, outsourcing much of the work and losing control over quality and innovation.
The consequences have been severe: doors falling off in flight and engines catching fire, symptoms of a system under strain.
Speaking of Boeing: the last bastion of American commercial aviation greatness is failing.
The old adage, "If It's Not Boeing, I'm Not Going," has tragically morphed into "If It's Boeing, I'm Not Going."
The result?
Planes in both commercial and general aviation are now prohibitively expensive to purchase, absurdly costly to own and maintain, and less capable than before.
Since the retirement of the 747, the Concorde, and the A380, planes have become slower and less capable.
Technologically speaking, the aviation industry isn't just stagnating. In important ways, it's moving backward.
Our once-mighty aeronautics industry is now a shadow of its former self.
The Mission
Our mission is to change that.
We need U.S. aeronautics to lead again. We need to build aircraft the way SpaceX builds rockets: raw materials come in one end of the factory, and new vehicles come out the other.
Vertical integration in mind from day one.
We envision Sorian as a multi-product company, building a family of aircraft that are affordable to own, fly, and maintain.
How? We start with training jets that fly in special-use airspace under the experimental category. This lets us reduce technical, regulatory, and financial risk while keeping the path to flight direct.
How We Work
We do what's required
If the work requires long hours, we work long hours. When a deadline demands it, we work nights and weekends.
Extreme Ownership
You see a problem? You solve it. No excuses. No deferral to management.
End-to-End Involvement
You don't get siloed. You build it. You test it. You break it. You fix it.
You're in the loop from concept to launch.
You Are the Factory
There's no "throw it over the wall."
If something's missing-build it.
If it's broken-fix it.
If it doesn't exist-invent it.
Build > Talk
We prototype. We test.
We don't sit in meetings talking theory.
If you're building PowerPoints, you're already behind.
Speed Is Everything
We measure ourselves against what's physically possible, not what's comfortable. We often ask:
“What’s the theoretical absolute minimum required to accomplish that?”
That becomes the benchmark to optimize for.
What Matters
- We don't care about where you went to school or your past work experience.
Bent the metal? Consider applying. - We don't care about your resume formatting.
- We don't care about your job title at Lockheed or your MBA.
We care what you've built.
- Built a scramjet in your garage? Please apply.
- Rebuilt a hot rod from surplus parts? We want to talk.
- Designed and prototyped flight hardware but don't have a formal degree? Consider applying.
- Solved a super challenging problem before? Tell us.
This Job Is Not for You If
- You expect neatly defined roles and structured onboarding
- You clock out at 5 and mentally disappear
- You're allergic to direct feedback
- You're here for a "job." We're here for a mission
This Job Is for You If:
- You love flying
- You're unreasonably driven
- You fix problems instead of waiting for someone else
- You love building, not bureaucracy
- You want to fly the aircraft you helped design
- You believe America can and should lead in the skies again
(Oh, and we pay 100% of your PPL flight training tuition.)
P.S. If you’re still reading, you’re already in rare company. Most people won’t make it that far, and that’s exactly the point.