F

Furientis

Designs and manufactures high-rate interceptor missiles

Optical Modeling and Simulation Engineer

Full-TimePosted on 10/19/2026
No salary listed
Senior
Bachelor's, Master's, PhD
Los Angeles, CA, USA
In PersonOn-site at the Los Angeles headquarters; monthly weekend travel for test events and supplier engagements.
Electrical Engineering

About the job

Requirements
  • A B.S. in Optics, Photonics, Physics, or Electrical Engineering is required; an M.S. or Ph.D. is preferred.
  • At least 7 years of designing and building pulsed solid-state lasers that shipped or flew, including diode-pumped, Q-switched systems personally taken from modeling through bench hardware to measured performance.
  • Resonator and Q-switch design from first principles, including rate equations, cavity stability and mode control, passive and active Q-switching, and output-coupler and fluence trade-offs against coating and material damage thresholds.
  • Practical diode-pumping experience, including pump wavelength control over temperature, thermal lensing and fracture limits, diode lifetime and derating, and associated drive electronics.
  • Amplifier design for seeded MOPA chains in fiber or bulk, including stored-energy extraction, ASE and parasitic-lasing suppression, SBS/SRS management, linewidth control, and isolation.
  • Fluency with laser modeling tools such as LASCAD, ASLD, RP Fiber Power, Zemax, and personal Python rate-equation models, with evidence that models match measured hardware.
  • Bench characterization of pulse energy and temporal shape, M² and divergence, spectrum and linewidth, jitter, and performance over temperature and life, with data defensible in a design review.
  • Experience packaging pulsed lasers for harsh environments, with bonded and aligned assemblies that maintain specifications through shock, vibration, and temperature.
  • Laser safety ownership, including ANSI Z136.1, classification, NOHD analysis, and range operations; prior Laser Safety Officer duty or sufficient depth to take on that responsibility.
  • Daily use of agentic coding tools such as Claude Code, with examples of work shipped.
  • Must be a U.S. Person.
Responsibilities
  • Own the laser transmitter specification and interface control document with the coherent systems engineer, including pulse energy, width, repetition rate, jitter, divergence and M², size, weight and power, and environmental requirements derived from channel link budgets and supported by the role's models.
  • Survey and select off-the-shelf Er:glass microchip modules, seeded MOPA transmitters, and seed lasers from the global supply base, and own vendor technical relationships.
  • Characterize each purchased unit at device level, including energy over temperature, repetition-rate derating, beam quality, pulse jitter, shot life, and lot-to-lot variance; create acceptance tests that go beyond datasheet claims.
  • Own triggering and synchronization, the drive-electronics interface with Electronics & Power, the thermal path, and the swap-ready optical, mechanical, and electrical interface.
  • Design and build an in-house Q-switched Er:glass laser, including Er/Yb glass selection, pump-diode and thermal design, passive Co:spinel or active Q-switching, cavity and output coupler, and fluence versus laser-damage budgeting; take it from first light to a qualified, producible unit.
  • Design and build a seeded MOPA amplifier chain around an off-the-shelf seed, including gain staging and energy extraction, ASE and parasitic-lasing control, SBS/SRS headroom, isolation, and pulsed pumping.
  • Package both laser families for flight conditions, including shock, vibration, and temperature, and own lifetime, burn-in, and acceptance testing for rate production with Manufacturing and Test Systems.
  • Own the pulsed-laser laboratory, including alignment and bonding fixtures, metrology, and build procedures for technicians to use at production rate.
  • Own the program-wide laser safety program, including classification, NOHD analysis, range paperwork, and the ANSI Z136.1 program as Laser Safety Officer.
Desired Qualifications
  • Experience with Er:glass or eye-safe 1.5 µm lasers in a rangefinder, designator, or ladar product.
  • Microchip laser design or manufacture, including bonded passive-Q-switch assemblies.
  • High-g or munition-class laser packaging, or direct missile or seeker program experience.
  • Experience taking a laser from prototype to volume production, including yield, burn-in, and acceptance at rate.
  • Working knowledge of the gain-media, Q-switch crystal, coating, and pump-diode supply base.

About the company

F

Furientis

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Furientis is a defense technology company that designs and builds low-cost interceptor missiles with a focus on high-rate production. Its products, like the F1.0 Tactical Interceptor, are built from the ground up with vertically integrated subsystems—the seeker, control actuation, airframe, and solid rocket motor—using proprietary motor chemistry optimized for throughput. The missiles are designed for large-scale manufacturing, targeting production of about 1,000 units per factory per year and a 30-minute final assembly time per vehicle. The company emphasizes in-house manufacturing, rapid testing, and scalable operations, supported by a funded OTA contract with the U.S. government. Furientis aims to expand its production capabilities and flight-test operations, as shown by its seed funding round to hire more staff and increase testing and manufacturing capacity.

Company Size

11-50

Company Stage

Seed

Total Funding

$30M

Headquarters

El Segundo, California

Founded

2025

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Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Silent Ventures led Furientis's $5 million round on May 14, 2026.
  • NPS CRADA and Tactical Missile Innovation Challenge finalist status validate military pull.
  • A 2026 follow-on funding signal suggests investors still price in rapid scale potential.

What critics are saying

  • Navy procurement stays captive to RTX and Lockheed Martin through 2027.
  • Missile qualification failures on seeker, SRM, or ship-launch integration kill production timelines.
  • Without a program of record, Furientis becomes a test article company, not a business.

What makes Furientis unique

  • Furientis ships ship-based interceptors built for manufacturability, not laboratory demo hardware.
  • Franzen and Simsarian bring Virgin Galactic, Virgin Orbit, and Castelion propulsion experience.
  • By May 2026, Furientis had six flight tests and ten static-fire tests.

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The Defence Blog
Oct 14th, 2026
Year-old startup wins spot in U.S. Army interceptor fly-off.

Year-old startup wins spot in U.S. Army interceptor fly-off. Oct 17, 2026 Modified date: Oct 17, 2026 Key Points * Furientis was selected as one of four vendors for a U.S. Army fly-off at the end of fiscal 2027 for a second IFPC Inc 2 interceptor. * The year-old startup recently won its first funded Pentagon contract, raised $25 million, and unveiled a CAML launcher with Rheinmetall at AUSA. Furientis, a missile startup founded just last year, has been picked as one of four companies to fly interceptors in a U.S. Army shoot-off at the end of fiscal 2027, competing to supply a second missile for the service's Indirect Fire Protection Capability Increment 2 air defense system. Co-founder and CEO Brody Franzen announced the selection, describing it as a downselect for a fly-off at the end of a fiscal year that closes on Sept. 30, 2027, without naming the other three companies chosen. The Indirect Fire Protection Capability Increment 2, or IFPC Inc 2, is the U.S. Army's mid-range air defense system for protecting bases and troops from cruise missiles, drones, rockets and artillery. Its truck-mounted Enduring Shield launcher, built by Leidos subsidiary Dynetics, now fires RTX's AIM-9X Sidewinder, and the U.S. Army has spent the past few years looking for a second, more capable missile that can handle fast, low-flying cruise missiles and be built in larger numbers. - ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW - Discover more Military news subscription Global security news Defense news analysis Lockheed Martin and a team of Boeing and Anduril are already competing in the formal second-interceptor program, which moved into its demonstration phase in September after Rafael's U.S. subsidiary was not selected to continue. At the Association of the U.S. Army conference this week, Lt. Gen. Frank Lozano, the service's portfolio acquisition executive for fires, said the U.S. Army would open a parallel path for companies that missed that first cut but kept investing in their own designs, inviting them to bring missiles to the range for a shoot-off in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2027, Breaking Defense reported, and Furientis' selection appears to be part of that track. Franzen and Aris Simsarian, both former engineers at Virgin Orbit and Castelion, founded Furientis in 2025 in the Los Angeles area to build interceptors designed for mass production from readily available parts. The company puts final assembly time at about 30 minutes and says it flight-tests prototypes roughly every two weeks instead of spending years on design before flying. The startup came out of stealth in May with a $5 million pre-seed round, and on Oct. 6 it announced both a $25 million seed round led by Benchmark and its first funded government contract, a prototyping agreement with the U.S. Department of War for a 100-mile-range interceptor intended for homeland defense. According to Franzen, the IFPC selection capped a busy two weeks in which Furientis flew its first horizontal flight test on a government range for the U.S. Army's low-cost interceptor effort and, at AUSA, unveiled a containerized launcher developed with Rheinmetall for the U.S. Army's Common Autonomous Multi-Domain Launcher program. He credited the U.S. Army's Portfolio Acquisition Executive for Fires and its defensive fires team, led by Brig. Gen. Guy Yelverton, for opening the door to nontraditional vendors and giving them the resources to speed up development, and said Furientis is now hiring as it prepares its interceptor for the shoot-off due by the end of September 2027. - ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW - Discover more Military technology updates Air Force news Naval forces news Corrections and feedback If you identify a factual or grammatical error in this article, please report it using its corrections form. Executive Editor Support the reporting you read Your contribution helps Defence Blog produce independent defense news and analysis.

Blue Field Media
Oct 13th, 2026
American Rheinmetall at AUSA 2026: Lynx XM30, Furientis interceptors and autonomous vehicles.

American Rheinmetall at AUSA 2026: Lynx XM30, Furientis interceptors and autonomous vehicles. 12 October, 2026 American Rheinmetall is showcasing a range of combat vehicles, autonomous launchers, unmanned ground systems and ammunition at the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Annual Meeting & Exposition in Washington, D.C., from October 12 to 14, with Zona Militar covering the event on site. The company's display focuses on technologies supporting U.S. Army modernization, including the Lynx XM30 combat vehicle, the HX tactical truck configured for autonomous launcher operations and several robotic platforms intended for logistics and combat support. At booth #2825, American Rheinmetall is presenting systems developed across the company's international industrial network, highlighting its work in ground combat, tactical mobility, autonomy and precision effects. Its participation comes as the company expands its U.S. industrial footprint and pursues opportunities in Army modernization programs, combining vehicle manufacturing with technologies developed by Rheinmetall and its industry partners. One of the principal systems associated with the display is the Lynx XM30, American Rheinmetall's candidate for the U.S. Army's XM30 Combat Vehicle program, which aims to replace the M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle. The Lynx is built around a modular architecture intended to accommodate different mission systems and future upgrades, while its participation in the program places Rheinmetall alongside General Dynamics Land Systems in the competition to supply the Army's next-generation combat vehicle. You may also like The XM30 program remains in the prototype and evaluation phase, with the Army assessing competing designs before selecting a replacement for the Bradley. American Rheinmetall's proposal draws on the wider Lynx vehicle family, adapting its architecture to U.S. requirements while emphasizing protection, mobility and the integration of digital systems for future battlefield operations. Another major element of the company's portfolio is the HX tactical truck configured for the Common Autonomous Multi-Domain Launcher (CAML) concept, which combines a mobile vehicle platform with a modular launcher intended to operate either autonomously or with a crew. Rheinmetall has reported more than 20,000 HX-family vehicles fielded worldwide, while its autonomous driving technologies have been integrated across multiple chassis types and are intended to support operations in environments where limiting personnel exposure is a priority. The HX-based launcher concept incorporates autonomous navigation, convoy and waypoint driving, teleoperation and automated loading and unloading, with an open architecture intended to accommodate different mission systems and effectors. The platform is designed to provide a mobile launch capability without requiring a separate vehicle design for every weapon system, although specific payload configurations and integration status depend on the individual system being evaluated. The CAML concept has also been linked to Furientis interceptors, introducing a potential missile option for mobile air defense. A separate report from AUSA 2026 describes a live interceptor firing involving a containerized launch module mounted on a Rheinmetall HX vehicle; however, the available information does not establish that the missile used in that test was Furientis's F1.0 Tactical Interceptor, nor does it confirm a procurement decision by the U.S. Army. Furientis is developing the F1.0 Tactical Interceptor around a design intended to support scalable production and lower manufacturing costs, with the company working on key subsystems including the seeker, airframe, control system and solid-propellant rocket motor. The design incorporates forward-mounted canard control surfaces and guidance software using commercially available electronic components, while detailed performance specifications, including the interceptor's engagement range, have not been publicly established in the material reviewed for this article. The company's unmanned ground vehicle portfolio provides another major component of the display, covering platforms designed for resupply, casualty evacuation, electronic warfare and counter-unmanned aircraft system missions. These vehicles are intended to extend the reach of dismounted and maneuver forces while allowing selected support tasks to be performed remotely or autonomously, reducing the need to expose personnel in contested areas. Among these platforms is the Ox, a modular, autonomy-ready unmanned ground vehicle that Rheinmetall is positioning for squad- and platoon-level missions and which is competing in the U.S. Army's Ground Ordnance Autonomous Technologies (GOAT) program. Its proposed roles include logistics, casualty evacuation, electronic warfare and counter-drone operations, with its modular architecture intended to support different payloads according to mission requirements. The medium-class MUSKOX unmanned ground vehicle combines a hybrid-electric chassis with autonomous navigation and AI-driven controls for logistics, sustainment and combat support. Rheinmetall has also linked the platform to the Army's Project Sustainment Program, while the Mission Master SP, also known as the Mission Master Silent Partner, has been down-selected for the Last Tactical Mile program and is designed to support autonomous resupply and casualty evacuation, with optional amphibious capability. Rheinmetall's display also includes the Wild Goose Infantry Modular Robotic System, a platform intended for dismounted forces with a stated payload capacity of 330 pounds and a terrain-dependent range of up to 25 kilometers. Its modular configuration allows it to be adapted to different infantry tasks, complementing the company's larger robotic vehicles with a system designed for operations closer to the squad level. Beyond vehicles and robotics, American Rheinmetall is presenting ammunition and weapons technologies, including 155 mm extended-range propellants and rocket-assisted V-LAP projectiles, airburst ammunition and the Highly-Advanced Multi-Mission Rifle, a shoulder-fired, magazine-fed 40 mm grenade launcher. The company is also highlighting its role as a supplier of components, structures and assemblies for U.S. defense programs, including the Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS), underscoring the breadth of its manufacturing activities beyond complete vehicle platforms. Publicidad

AndroGuider
Oct 6th, 2026
Benchmark bets $25M on Furientis to mass-produce low-cost missile interceptors.

Benchmark bets $25M on Furientis to mass-produce low-cost missile interceptors. Tl;dr. * Benchmark has led a $25M funding round in Furientis to scale mass production of low-cost missile interceptors, marking the firm's first pure defense investment in its 30-year history. * Furientis claims it can build interceptors for under $50,000 per unit - a fraction of traditional systems - using commercial automotive manufacturing techniques and software-defined guidance. * The deal underscores a major Silicon Valley shift, as top-tier venture firms race to back affordable air defense amid drone warfare, depleted U.S. stockpiles, and surging Pentagon demand. Benchmark breaks tradition. For three decades, Benchmark has built its reputation by saying no. No mega-funds, no hype-chasing, no defense. The storied Silicon Valley partnership behind eBay, Uber, Snap, and Discord has famously avoided the defense industry even as rivals like Andreessen Horowitz and Founders Fund went all-in on American Dynamism. That changed this week. Benchmark has led a $25 million investment in Furientis, a two-year-old startup building affordable missile interceptors designed to be produced by the tens of thousands. The round, confirmed on October 6, 2026, will fund a new high-volume manufacturing facility and first large-scale deliveries. Benchmark partner Chetan Puttagunta is joining the board, a signal of how seriously the firm is taking the bet. For Benchmark, known for its small, equal-partnership model and reluctance to do capital-intensive hardware, the move is seismic. Sources close to the firm say the partnership debated the investment for months before concluding that air defense is now both a national imperative and a massive commercial opportunity. Meet Furientis. Furientis was founded in 2024 by former SpaceX propulsion engineer Max Vogel and ex-Anduril autonomy lead Sarah Kim, with a blunt thesis: America doesn't have an interceptor technology problem, it has an interceptor cost and volume problem. Traditional U.S. air defense relies on exquisite, expensive systems. A single Patriot PAC-3 MSE interceptor costs around $4 million. Even a short-range Stinger is over $400,000. That math collapses against $2,000 Shahed-type drones, Hamas rockets, or a massed Chinese missile salvo in the Pacific. Furientis is building a family of truck-launched, radar-cued interceptors designed from day one for mass production. Its first product, the F-1 Dart, is a 6-foot, 55-pound kinetic interceptor aimed at countering drones, cruise missiles, helicopters, and loitering munitions at ranges up to 15 kilometers. The company says it has already conducted over 40 live-fire tests at Yuma Proving Ground, with a reported 90%+ hit rate against drone swarms and subsonic cruise missile surrogates. The cost breakthrough. What convinced Benchmark wasn't just performance - it was price and producibility. Furientis claims its F-1 interceptor will cost less than $50,000 at scale, with a path to under $30,000 at volumes above 50,000 units per year. That's roughly one-eightieth the cost of a Patriot and an order of magnitude cheaper than Israel's Tamir interceptors for Iron Dome. How? The startup has thrown out the defense prime playbook. Instead of mil-spec custom parts and hand assembly, Furientis uses commercial automotive-grade sensors, 3D-printed airframes, and off-the-shelf solid rocket motors sourced in the U.S. Guidance is software-defined, using active radar homing fused with electro-optical seekers and AI-based target discrimination running on low-cost Nvidia-class chips. Manufacturing is modeled on Tesla and SpaceX, not Lockheed Martin. The new funding will scale its 120,000-square-foot factory in El Segundo, California, which the company says will be capable of producing 10,000 interceptors annually by late 2027, with a second site in Texas planned for 2028. Why now: air defense in crisis. The timing is no accident. Three years of war in Ukraine, Red Sea attacks on U.S. warships, and Iran's mass missile and drone barrages against Israel in 2024 and 2025 have exposed a brutal reality: the U.S. and its allies are running out of interceptors. The Pentagon has fired more than $2 billion worth of high-end interceptors at low-end Houthi drones. Army officials have openly warned that stockpiles of Patriots and THAAD would last only weeks in a Pacific conflict. The new Golden Dome missile defense initiative and the Pentagon's Replicator drone-counter program have made low-cost air defense a top procurement priority. Furientis says it already has contracts with the U.S. Army's Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office and is in advanced trials with two allied nations. The Benchmark capital is expected to help it bridge from prototype contracts to programs of record. What it signals for venture capital. Benchmark's entry is the clearest sign yet that defense tech has gone mainstream in Silicon Valley. Defense startups raised over $35 billion in 2025, up nearly 300% from 2021, according to PitchBook estimates. Anduril's $2.5 billion raise at a $30.5 billion valuation, Helsing's rise in Europe, and Saronic, Castelion, and Epirus mega-rounds have pulled even holdout firms off the sidelines. But Benchmark's move is different. Unlike a16z, which launched a dedicated American Dynamism practice, Benchmark is making a concentrated, partner-led bet without a defense fund or thesis. It's a validation that elite software investors now see hardware for warfighting as venture-backable: high gross margins at scale, software-like iteration cycles, and a customer with an effectively infinite budget. Expect more to follow. Sequoia, Benchmark's longtime rival, has also been quietly exploring defense deals. With Furientis, the taboo is officially broken. What's next. Furientis faces a brutal road ahead. Scaling rocket motor supply chains, passing full Army qualification, and competing against incumbents like RTX, Lockheed Martin, and well-funded Anduril will test even Benchmark's backing. But if it can deliver on its promise - tens of thousands of $30,000 interceptors rolling off an assembly line like cars - it could rewrite the economics of air defense. As Vogel put it in a statement: Androguider don't need more perfect interceptors. Androguider need enough interceptors. AndroGuider Team Articles written by the AndroGuider team. Androguider try to make them thorough and informational while being easy to read.

TechCrunch
Oct 6th, 2026
Furientis lands $25M from Benchmark to mass-produce low-cost missile interceptors | TechCrunch

The storied Silicon Valley firm makes its first pure defense investment.

Intelpro
Oct 6th, 2026
Furientis lands $25M from Benchmark to mass-produce low-cost missile interceptors.

Furientis lands $25M from Benchmark to mass-produce low-cost missile interceptors. The storied Silicon Valley firm makes its first pure defense investment. Until recently, venture capitalists largely steered clear of defense startups. Investments in the sector were viewed as morally controversial, and the process of securing government contracts was too lengthy and uncertain to justify venture funding. But that sentiment changed rapidly after conflicts in Ukraine and Iran began to deplete the U.S. military's missile supply. Startups that prove they can build equipment fast and affordably now stand a real chance of landing a Pentagon contract on an expedited timeline. Four years into the defense tech boom that arguably began when Russia invaded Ukraine, the storied Silicon Valley venture firm Benchmark is placing its first bet on a pure defense startup. Benchmark is leading a $25 million seed round into Furientis, a startup on a mission to mass-produce interceptor missiles. Just one year old, the company - whose name means "of fury" in Latin - has already secured a funded Pentagon contract to build mid-range interceptors. The startup was valued at $125 million, according to a person familiar with the company. Furientis' seed round follows a $5 million pre-seed that was announced in May. "What they accomplished with just a pre-seed round was nothing short of remarkable," Benchmark general partner Chetan Puttagunta, told TechCrunch. "They manufactured prototypes with just $5 million. They had they had already successfully done [a dozen] launches by the time we invested." That efficiency is in stark contrast to the slow-moving, high-cost development models used by traditional defense primes. The startup's velocity is driven by its co-founders, who bring years of aerospace and defense engineering experience. Brody Franzen served as deputy chief engineer at Virgin Galactic before joining Castelion, a hypersonic missile startup valued at $13 billion, while Aris Simsarian previously led rocket engine testing at Virgin Orbit. The duo launched Furientis after realizing the U.S. military is facing a severe shortage of "exquisite" missiles, which can cost around $3 million each, to counter inexpensive adversary threats, Franzen told TechCrunch. According to Franzen, the U.S. Navy receives a mere 300 to 500 interceptor missiles annually, compared to China, which claims a production rate of 3,000 anti-ship cruise missiles a month. "We're being outproduced by a factor of 100 plus," he said. "That is why we started the company." Furientis is not aiming to match the performance of best-in-class missile interceptors; instead, it is designing and manufacturing its systems so they can be assembled quickly from readily available components. As a result, each unit costs a fraction of legacy interceptors, a compelling value proposition for a Pentagon desperate to scale inventory within strict budget limits. Unlike traditional defense primes such as Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, which are bogged down by long design cycles, Furientis has been testing its missiles in the field on a bi-weekly basis. The startup's ultimate goal is to manufacture 1,000 systems a year in each factory. But for now, the young company is working out of its facility in Los Angeles, and taking its prototypes for trial launches to White Sands, New Mexico. Given the need, Furientis is not the only company working on helping the government restock its stockpiles. Franzen said that larger defense startups like Anduril, Castelion, and Shield AI are also racing to build mass-produced interceptors, while traditional primes scramble to modernize their own manufacturing cycles. Benchmark's Puttagunta is not fazed by the seemingly crowded space. "I think there's opportunity for lots more companies in this sector," he said.