Flight Test Operations Lead / Manager

Neros Technologies
Torrance, CA

Who this role is best for

A natural match if you have hands-on drone piloting or management experience in UAS or military aviation.

Best fit for

  • Candidates with team leadership experience in UAS, military, or aviation operations.
    — “5+ years of experience leading teams in UAS, film, military, aviation, or similarly complex operations”
  • Individuals who can balance multiple operational constraints and prioritize throughput.
    — “Own and maintain the flight test schedule across concurrent campaigns, balancing pilot, technician, aircraft, and range availability against engineering commitments”
  • Candidates with prior experience managing physical assets and logistics for field operations.
    — “Experience managing physical assets such as work facilities, vehicles, and field infrastructure”

Things to consider

  • Occasional overnight stays at test facilities are part of the role’s operational demands.
    — “Willingness to stay overnight at test facilities occasionally during the week”

How to stand out

  • Highlight your ability to optimize flight test schedules and reduce operational bottlenecks.
    — “Collect data on where time goes, find the bottlenecks, and fix them”
  • Emphasize your track record of managing team growth and onboarding processes.
    — “Build and manage the flight test operations team, including hiring, onboarding, performance management, and career progression”
  • Demonstrate your hands-on drone piloting skills or management of drone pilots.
    — “Hands on ability to fly drones, or experience managing and directing drone pilots”
  • Showcase your experience in planning multi-week field deployments and site coordination.
    — “Plan multi week testing deployments including travel, logistics, site coordination”
  • Demonstrate your ability to improve test operations repeatability and documentation.
    — “Improve the repeatability, documentation, and throughput of test operations over time”
Pace · Fast PacedCollaboration · HighAutonomy · MediumDecision Impact · Team

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

  • improved flight test throughput
  • reduced workload and stress on flight teams
  • successful deployment of test sites
Typical background
5+ years of experience leading teams in UAS, film, military, aviation, or similar complex operations

Skills & requirements

Required

Team LeadershipFlight Test OperationsResource AllocationFacility ManagementLogistics Planning

Preferred

FPV Acro PilotingUAS Flight Test OperationsLogisticsMilitary ExperienceEngineering Background

Stack & domain

UASFPV Drone KnowledgeLogisticsFacility ManagementStanding Up Undeveloped LandLeadershipOwnershipSchedulingResource AllocationCommunicationDefense TechnologyDrone Industrial BaseFlight Test Operations

About the role

Original posting from Neros Technologies via Greenhouse

Who we are

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.

What you will be doing

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.

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

You should have the following

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 have

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

US Salary Range

$131,500 - $184,000 USD

The salary range for this role is an estimate based on a wide range of compensation factors, inclusive of base salary only. Actual salary may vary based on (but not limited to) work experience, education and/or training, critical skills, and/or business considerations. Highly competitive equity grants are considered part of Neros' total compensation package.

We’re an equal opportunity employer. We welcome all applicants without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.

Source: Neros Technologies careers (Greenhouse)

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