Flight Test Operations Lead / Manager

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.