---
title: 'Manager, Autonomy Evaluation, Data & Test at Neros Technologies'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/manager-autonomy-evaluation-data-test-neros-technologies-torrance-california-9f8ab1w23vtm'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-13'
---

# Manager, Autonomy Evaluation, Data & Test at Neros Technologies

- **Company:** Neros Technologies
- **Location:** Torrance California, United States
- **Posted:** 2026-09-08
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-13
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/nerostechnologies/jobs/5230189007

## Job description

## 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 builds autonomy for drones that operate in contested environments where GPS and communications are denied. The Autonomy Evaluation, Data & Test team owns how autonomy performance is measured across all Neros platforms: the regression and simulation infrastructure every software change is tested against, the data platform that ingests and indexes flight logs, the hardware-in-the-loop bench, and field test operations. As the leader of this team, you will define the metrics and acceptance criteria that determine whether autonomy software is cleared to fly, and build the team and systems that produce that evidence.

- Own the release criteria for autonomy software, including the definition of the regression gate, the conditions under which a build is blocked, and the process for reviewing exceptions
- Define autonomy performance metrics and their semantics for the organization, and publish coverage and reliability reporting to engineering and company leadership
- Build and operate a multi-tier regression system spanning unit and module tests, open-loop replay against logged flights, closed-loop simulation, and hardware-in-the-loop testing on production flight computers, including latency and deadline-miss measurement on target hardware
- Own the autonomy data platform end to end: on-vehicle capture, field egress, ingest and normalization, log catalog and query layer, deterministic replay at scale, and versioned dataset materialization for model training
- Direct field test and autonomy integration, including instrumented test articles, autonomy payload integration, range operations, log recovery, and flight-readiness execution
- Hire, lead, and develop a team of engineers spanning software infrastructure, data engineering, simulation, and physical test

You should have the following

- 8+ years of engineering experience in robotics, autonomous vehicles, aerospace, or defense autonomy, including 3+ years managing engineers
- Direct experience leading an evaluation, validation, metrics, or test infrastructure function for a physical autonomous system
- Demonstrated experience defining performance metrics and acceptance criteria for autonomy or machine learning systems, and owning release gating decisions
- Hands-on experience building automated regression and CI infrastructure for robotics or autonomy software, in Python and C++
- Experience with large-scale log and sensor data infrastructure: ingest pipelines, time alignment across sensors, cataloging and query over multi-terabyte unstructured video and telemetry data, and deterministic replay
- Working knowledge of closed-loop simulation and hardware-in-the-loop testing, including real-time latency budgets and timing measurement on embedded compute
- Experience managing engineers across more than one discipline, including at least one outside your own technical background
- BS or MS in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field

## Nice to Have

- Experience building evaluation, simulation, or data infrastructure from the ground up at an autonomous vehicle, drone, or robotics company, rather than operating an established system
- Experience with machine learning data pipelines, including dataset versioning and lineage, labeling operations, and large-scale automated model evaluation
- Experience supporting or leading flight test and range operations, including instrumented test articles, test article turnaround, and flight-readiness review processes
- Background in guidance, navigation and control, multi-target tracking, sensor fusion, or electro-optical and infrared perception in maritime or air-to-air domains

US Salary Range

$191,500 – $268,000 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.

## About Neros Technologies

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: A defense technology company building combat-proven, attritable drones and unmanned systems to deliver asymmetric advantage for Western military forces at scale.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series B)
- **Headquarters**: Los Angeles, California, United States (El Segundo area)
- **Founded**: 2023
- **Founders**: Soren Monroe‑Anderson (CEO) and Olaf Hichwa (CTO)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Defense and Space Manufacturing
- **Target customers**: U.S. Department of Defense (Army, Marine Corps), allied nations (Ukraine, UK), and NATO partners – B2G / government.
- **Mission statement**: “Building unmanned superiority. At scale. In America.” The company was founded to onshore the manufacturing of drones critical to a modern arsenal and close the gap between design and deployment.

## Products & Services
Neros designs and manufactures high-performance unmanned aerial systems (UAS) with a focus on first‑person view (FPV) attritable drones, ground control stations, radios, and supporting software.
- **Archer Strike FPV**: A kinetic‑enabled FPV drone for lethal effects at range in contested environments. Combat‑proven, BlueUAS certified, and selected for the U.S. Army’s PBAS program.
- **Archer**: General‑purpose FPV drone built for modular payloads and resilient communications; also available as the **Archer Fiber** variant (fiber‑optic control link for jamming resistance, launched Dec 2025 in partnership with Kela Technologies).
- **Longbow / Crossbow**: Ground control stations – Longbow is a maximum‑range stationary GCS; Crossbow is a tactical GCS enabling electronic warfare resistance at range.
- **APEX (Adaptive Payload Exchange)**: An open‑source drone‑to‑payload integration standard (released May 2026) with commitments from Northrop Grumman and others.
- **Software**: Flight control, autonomy, and manufacturing‑support software. Custom flight computer with integrated sensor suite, designed for rapid iteration and software‑defined hardware.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation / Market Cap**: Not disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Total funding – **$120.9M** raised to date (Seed $10.9M, Series A $35M, Series B $75M)
- **Notable Investors / Partners**: Sequoia Capital (led Series B), Vy Capital, Cantos (led Seed); Kela Technologies (Archer Fiber), Northrop Grumman (APEX), DARPA (AI Grand Prix hardware provider)
- **Growth Signals**:
  - Selected by U.S. Army for Purpose‑Built Attritable Systems (PBAS) program (one of three vendors) targeting up to 1M drones over two years.
  - 6,000‑unit export deal to Ukraine.
  - Established Neros Technologies UK with up to £10M investment over five years; manufacturing hub in Swindon.
  - Headcount growth: +355% YoY (approx. 75–88 employees); 52 active job postings as of mid‑2026.
  - Open‑sourced APEX standard to create ecosystem lock‑in.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Vertically integrated U.S. manufacturing** with a secure, onshored supply chain – founded specifically to rebuild the American drone industrial base.
- **Combat‑proven systems** (Ukraine, live‑fire testing) in high‑tempo electronic warfare environments.
- **BlueUAS certified** – compliance with NDAA and U.S. government standards.
- **Fiber‑optic control link** (Archer Fiber) that is immune to RF jamming – a unique differentiation in contested spectrum.
- **Open‑source payload standard (APEX)** to drive adoption and ecosystem dependence.
- **Rapid iteration culture** – “engineer at the speed of modern conflict” with continuous battlefield feedback.

## Strategic Focus
- **Scale production**: CEO has publicly stated a target of 10,000+ drones per month; PBAS award and UK hub are key enablers.
- **International expansion**: Establish sovereign manufacturing in the UK (Swindon) to supply British Armed Forces and NATO partners.
- **Autonomy advancement**: Hiring Head of Autonomy, autonomy simulation engineers, and computer vision engineers to mature software‑defined capabilities.
- **Ecosystem building**: Promote APEX as an industry standard to lock in partners and expand market reach.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: “Fast, hands‑on, and obsessed with closing the gap between design and deployment.” Emphasizes extreme ownership, rapid iteration, and real‑world impact. Attracts talent from SpaceX, Anduril, Skydio, and Relativity Space.
- **Work model**: On‑site in Torrance (CA), with a Tennessee office (Advanced Manufacturing) and Ukraine office. UK hub (Swindon) also hiring. Roles include engineering, manufacturing, autonomy, RF, IT, and business development.
- **Notable perks / engineering culture**: Build products that are actually tested in combat; startup speed with mission‑focused seriousness; opportunity to shape the future of attritable drone warfare. Strong preference for builders, not watchers.

## Sources
1. [neros.tech](https://www.neros.tech/)
2. [Greenhouse Careers Page](http://job-boards.greenhouse.io/nerostechnologies)
3. [LinkedIn Company Profile](https://www.linkedin.com/company/neros-tech)
4. [Built In Neros Technologies](https://builtin.com/company/neros-technologies)
5. [robotics.press Company Profile](https://robotics.press/news/neros-technologies-company-profile/)

## Other roles at Neros Technologies

- [Deputy General Counsel](https://feeny.ai/job/deputy-general-counsel-neros-technologies-torrance-california-61m1a1nke7he) — Torrance California, United States
- [Autonomy Platform & Runtime Lead](https://feeny.ai/job/autonomy-platform-runtime-lead-neros-technologies-torrance-california-wxesfbqz7p46) — Torrance California, United States
- [State Estimation & Navigation Lead](https://feeny.ai/job/state-estimation-navigation-lead-neros-technologies-torrance-california-q90ye900eqd3) — Torrance California, United States
- [Senior Defense Strategist](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-defense-strategist-neros-technologies-washington-district-of-columbia-xqa49cfqxa5w) — Washington District of Columbia, United States
- [Operations Project Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/operations-project-manager-neros-technologies-ukraine-p35p9vj7haz3) — Ukraine
- [Administration & Procurement Specialist](https://feeny.ai/job/administration-procurement-specialist-neros-technologies-ukraine-qfe9qnmf93q5) — Ukraine
- [Finance & Operations Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/finance-operations-manager-neros-technologies-ukraine-83pf8eg8dqk3) — Ukraine
- [BD Pilot, USMC](https://feeny.ai/job/bd-pilot-usmc-neros-technologies-remote-85hnnrvdhpwd)
- [BD Pilot, Army](https://feeny.ai/job/bd-pilot-army-neros-technologies-remote-2008r199x9mp)
- [SMT Process Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/smt-process-engineer-neros-technologies-torrance-california-ja35p9t77vnb) — Torrance California, United States