Helicon's mission is to accelerate the world's transition to advanced materials. We combine AI software, robotics, and full-stack manufacturing to reinvent how the West maintains a competitive edge.

We hire people with high agency and high urgency. We look for slope over intercept. We care about what you’ve built. At Helicon, everyone owns problems end to end and makes consequential decisions that shape the outcome. Every day we build what most think is impossible.

We're backed by the investors who were first believers in Applied Intuition, Valar Atomics, Factory, Astranis, Flock Safety and Relativity Space.

What You'll Do

Argos: our OS that orchestrates everything from raw material to finished part (supply chain, quoting, pricing)
Argos Sim: CAD automation, DFM for composite parts, mold generation and simulation to speed up design cycles
Factory automation: integrate real-time data from manufacturing equipment and sensors into a 24/7 digital twin powering everything we do.
Building alongside world-class hardware engineers with full autonomy

Who We're Looking For

Need:

2+ years of production-grade shipping (FE: TypeScript, BE: Python/GO)
Track record of shipping high-quality products at scale
You own your work, figure shit out and build
Need to work fast and continuously master your craft

Nice to have:

Experience with manufacturing processes, automated systems, tooling
Experience with CAD, computational geometry and 3D environments

We're not for you if:

You won't get your hands dirty and don't want to build in the physical world
You're used to a dedicated PM, QA and design support
You need multiple rounds of review before anything ships

Why Join

Bethlehem for steel. Helicon for composites.

For too long the most advanced materials in the world have been left to the exquisite, we're industrializing composites enabling the systems of the future to be built at mass scale.

We want the best people and have no bureaucracy. That includes covering meals and paying for products that make you more productive and our partners stronger.

ITAR Requirements

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.

About the company

Helicon builds autonomous manufacturing cells and Argos software to produce carbon-fiber composite parts at high volume for unmanned systems, robotics, and aerospace. It uses automated factories controlled by its software to replace manual layup, achieving cycle times under 15 minutes and lead times around two weeks. The system is designed around robot-friendly materials and processes and is deployed as autonomous factories rather than manual workflows, setting it apart from traditional composite makers. Its goal is to scale manufacturing, engineering, and operations to speed up delivery of carbon-fiber parts to the market.

Company Size

1-10

Company Stage

Early VC

Total Funding

$15.4M

Headquarters

Los Angeles, California

Founded

N/A

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

AlleyCorp led Helicon's $16 million seed round in September 2026.
Los Angeles aerospace customers need domestic drone and robotics supply chains now.
Torrance's 36,000-square-foot buildout supports immediate hiring across engineering, robotics, and operations.

What critics are saying

Helicon has no named customer, pilot, or shipped part by October 2026.
AS9100-like aerospace certification and defense qualification will delay revenue beyond the 2026 launch.
Orbital Composites and incumbents like Toray and Hexcel already own advanced-composites credibility.

What makes Helicon unique

Helicon targets under-15-minute composite cycles, versus hours in legacy autoclave shops.
Torrance factory design optimizes robots, materials, and quality control for automation-first production.
Argos unifies quoting, simulation, manufacturability, and inspection around carbon-fiber part production.

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Benefits

Meal Benefits

Company News

JEC Composites

Oct 21st, 2026

Helicon raises $16.5M to scale AI-driven composite manufacturing in the US

Helicon, a Los Angeles company that makes composite structures, has raised $16.5 million to expand composite manufacturing in the US. The startup plans to use software, particularly AI, and automation to make composites more accessible, so that the field is no longer the preserve of physics experts. It says it is vertically integrated for fast iteration cycles. Helicon says lead times run from two to six weeks, with minimum orders of 10 to 100 units. It focuses on parts for the aerospace and defence industries, particularly unmanned systems such as drones, humanoid robots, and underwater vehicles. Investors include AlleyCorp, Josh Buckley, Mike Chalfen, Gokul Rajaram, Eileen Tanghal, Fredrik Hjelm, Charlie Songhurst, and Lucas Vaz.

Expansión

Oct 5th, 2026

Spanish AI robotics startup Helicon raises $15.8M to automate composite material factories

Spanish aerospace engineer Edmundo Sanz-Gadea has raised €14 million (US$16 million) for Helicon, an AI and robotics startup automating industrial manufacturing. The funding round was led by New York-based venture capital firm AlleyCorp. Helicon, co-founded with Alex Nieahaus in California, focuses on automating production of composite materials like carbon fibre. The company will use the capital to build a factory in Los Angeles and purchase industrial equipment. Sanz-Gadea explains that conventional production processes are highly manual and slow. With growing demand from manufacturers of drones and unmanned aerospace systems, more automated plants using AI and robotics are needed to speed up production. The Los Angeles facility should be operational within a year. Helicon plans to replicate this automated factory model in Europe, helping reduce dependence on Chinese manufacturers and supporting sovereign supply chains.

Helicon

Founding Software Engineer

About the job