Flight Test Operations Lead / Manager

Neros Technologies•Torrance, CA

About The Position

Neros is a defense technology company rebuilding America’s drone industrial base. We design and manufacture high-performance unmanned systems that are tested in combat, iterated at startup speed, and built at massive scale. Our team culture is fast, hands-on, and obsessed with closing the gap between design and deployment. As drones transform the character of warfare, Neros is delivering the systems the West needs to compete on the modern battlefield and deter the adversaries of democracy. We’re hiring engineers, operators, and builders who want to move fast, take on extreme ownership, and get capability into the hands of warfighters in months, not years. Neros is hiring a Flight Test Operations Lead/Manager to run the operations side of Flight Testing. You will own scheduling, staffing, facilities, and logistics for a team of pilots and technicians executing test flights on experimental FPV drones. You own Flight Test throughput - Success means more flight hours and tests per week with less workload and stress on the flight teams. Collect data on where time goes, find the bottlenecks, and fix them.

Requirements

5+ years of experience leading teams in UAS, film, military, aviation, or similarly complex operations
Demonstrated ownership of scheduling and resource allocation across multiple teams
Hands on ability to fly drones, or experience managing and directing drone pilots
Experience managing physical assets such as work facilities, vehicles, and field infrastructure
Willingness to stay overnight at test facilities occasionally during the week
Strong written communication and comfort in a fast moving environment

Nice To Haves

FPV acro piloting / In depth FPV drone knowledge
Experience in UAS flight test operations
Experience in logistics
Prior military experience
Engineering background, or experience working directly with engineering organizations
Facility management or standing up undeveloped land

Responsibilities

Own and maintain the flight test schedule across concurrent campaigns, balancing pilot, technician, aircraft, and range availability against engineering commitments
Build and manage the flight test operations team, including hiring, onboarding, performance management, and career progression
Be responsible for flight test facilities, vehicles, and field equipment. Lead requirements, timeline, and development of future test sites
Plan multi week testing deployments including travel, logistics, site coordination
Improve the repeatability, documentation, and throughput of test operations over time