Manager, Strategic Communications & Marketing

Who We Are:Aurelius Systems is a VC backed defense tech startup building autonomous, edge deployed directed energy systems for counter-UAS. We build laser weapons to shoot down drones.We're a small team of engineers, former US military operators, and subject matter experts scaling America's directed energy dominance. The first cost effective, reliable and robust laser weapon system.Our namesake isn't an accident. Marcus Aurelius wrote about doing the work in front of you, every day, without excuses. Henry Ford didn't wait for permission to reinvent manufacturing.That's how we operate — small team, unreasonable output, no hiding behind the unachievable.In addition to our San Francisco lab, we’ve opened a Detroit manufacturing hub and we field test weekly on our own 400-acre private range.The Role and Your Impact:We need a Strategic Communications & Marketing Manager to own the in-house marketing and comms function at Aurelius. This is a net-new role that sits between our fractional Head of Communications (strategy and PR) and our Creative and Brand lead (design and social production), with strong support from both as you ramp. You'll own positioning, BD enablement, events and industry presence, recruiting marketing partnership, and the operational layer that turns external surface area into pipeline and hires. We're hiring at the Manager level for someone with the trajectory to grow into a Head/Director as the company scales.What You'll Own:Strategic positioning and message architecture for Aurelius across every external surfaceBD enablement materials including capability briefs, one-pagers, customer-facing collateral, and demo communications for the growth teamIndustry events and conference presence including AUSA, Re-Industralize, AFA, Sea-Air-Space, AFCEA, and equivalent — calendar, presence strategy, booth and demo logistics, and on-site executionRecruiting marketing in close partnership with Talent, especially as engineering headcount roughly triplesExecutive thought leadership pipeline including bylines, podcast bookings, and stage opportunities for the Co-Founders and the ELTChannel strategy direction for paid and organic across LinkedIn, X, YouTube, and any new surfaces, with Wilson executing on creative and productionMarketing operations including website, email, analytics, and toolingEditorial support across the company including writing, editing, and proofing under deadlineWhat We're Looking For:5 to 10+ years in marketing or strategic communications, with end-to-end ownership across positioning, content, events, and operationsStrong writer who can match a defined voice rather than impose one, with a portfolio that shows itOperationally sharp, comfortable owning a calendar, vendors, tools, and budgets across multiple workstreams at onceExperience working alongside or owning a PR or comms function and a creative function without stepping on eitherComfortable in defense, hardware, deeptech, or other technically rigorous environments where marketing earns credibility instead of buying itWhere you probably come from: Marketing or comms roles at early-stage defense tech, hardware startups, deeptech, or technical companies where you owned positioning, BD enablement, and events as a small team. Bonus if you've supported a non-traditional vendor breaking into government customers.We want to talk if: You can write short and credible. You'd rather build a one-pager that closes a customer meeting than a campaign deck that doesn't. You want to grow into running marketing and comms for a defense tech company.Not a fit if: Your background is B2B SaaS demand gen and ABM, you've only worked agency side, or you need a six-figure paid budget to do anything.Nice to Haves:Defense, national security, or military background or close exposureExperience writing in a founder's voiceExperience supporting BD or capture teams with customer-facing materialsExperience running booth and demo presence at major defense industry eventsRecruiting marketing or employer brand experienceMarketing analytics and operations tooling fluencyEducation:No degree required. Portfolio and writing samples matter more.How You Operate:Extreme bias for action. You ship campaigns, materials, and events — not strategy decks about themYou can write, edit, and proof under deadline without losing voiceComfortable with ambiguity and fast iteration in a startup environmentClear communicator across founders, comms, creative, BD, and engineeringSelf directed. You identify what needs to happen next and do it without being toldWhy Join Aurelius Systems:Build more in 1 month than most technicians build in 1 year. We field test weekly. Your work goes downrange, not into a filing cabinet.Career velocity is real. At ~10 engineers, there are no layers between you and impact.Work on a problem that actually matters. Small cheap drones are changing warfare. Our laser systems are the asymmetric answer — infinite magazine, near zero cost per shot, scalable to every base, border, facility, and truck.Join the densest defense startup ecosystem in the country. California is where the next generation of defense companies are being built.How We Work:Core hours are Monday through Friday, 9 to 6. When we're sprinting toward a demo or field test, the team ramps up — nights, weekends, whatever it takes to ship. When the sprint lands, we ramp down. We don't manufacture intensity for show.Benefits:Competitive salary and equityUnited Health Care medical, dental, and vision coverageFlexible 18 days PTO plus 5 sick daysTravel to field test events and range daysCovered daily lunches and office snacks and drinksE-bike and scooter stipend up to $500Direct access to leadership and real ownership over your workExport Control Notice:This role requires access to export-controlled information or items that require U.S. Person status. As defined by U.S. law, individuals who are any one of the following are considered to be a U.S. Person: (1) U.S. citizens, (2) legal permanent residents (a.k.a. green card holders), and (3) certain protected classes of asylees and refugees, as defined in 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3).