Hermeus

At Hermeus, we run fast engineering cycles, move quickly from design to hardware, and fly our aircraft as fast as we can to accelerate learning. It’s a hands-on environment where teams see their work go from concept to reality in months. Not years. If you like to move fast and make real progress, we’re hiring across teams in Los Angeles, Atlanta, Jacksonville, and DC. Join us: www.hermeus.com/careers

Hermeus has received a Special Airworthiness Certificate (Experimental Category) from the FAA for its unmanned Quarterhorse Mk 2.1 aircraft.   We’re grateful to the agency for their diligent work in reviewing the aircraft and look forward to a strong collaboration as we expand the Quarterhorse program.  Now we get back to doing what we do best: flying fast planes fast.  Read more: https://ow.ly/2oco50YsYcF

🎱 Meet Dave, also known as “8-Ball.” As Senior Manager of Deployed Operations, 8-Ball built the infrastructure that supports Quarterhorse Mk 2.1’s flight-test campaign. His team stood up a fully operational test site in a matter of days, including a 6,000 square foot hangar custom-built for Mk 2.1. “The biggest surprise about working at Hermeus is that leadership gives a sense of ownership to everybody. They give you the opportunity to excel, and if you fumble, there’s half a dozen people there ready to support you.” At Hermeus, every flight is supported by a massive amount of work on the ground. Before the aircraft ever leaves the runway, we have to make sure the infrastructure keeps pace with the complex aircraft its supporting. If building fast planes and their infrastructure sounds like you’re kind of challenge, we’re hiring: www.hermeus.com/careers

ICYMI: Last week, Quarterhorse Mk 2.1 took its first flight in quiet the New Mexico desert. Just nine months after flying our last aircraft, the team built and flew another — larger, faster, and designed to push the flight envelope even further. This flight kicks off a disciplined campaign that will see Mk 2.1 reach supersonic speeds, one flight at a time. Now the work continues. Next stop: supersonic.

Three vehicles, each progressing in size and capability. This is what rapid hardware iteration looks like in practice. Mk 0 validated our design-build-test approach, Mk 1 delivered real flight data, and Mk 2.1 will take us supersonic. None of this happens in isolation. Each airframe is the result of hundreds of engineering decisions, wrenches turned, and loops closed on an accelerated timeline.  We’ve already made three iterations in three years — and somehow our team moves even faster with each build. 

Meet Mike ⚙️ Mike leads the integrated testing program for Quarterhorse, overseeing everything from the first power-on at the factory all the way through taxi and flight testing. His team does the critical work of making sure complex systems come together and get the plane in the air. “You are getting to work with a small, tight group of people, all of whom are excellent and working on an understandable, common mission. That is special and rare in the world of engineering and technician work, and I think people here realize that and savor it.” Building and flying high-speed aircraft is demanding work. Seeing a vehicle progress from a few pieces of hardware to a full-fledged aircraft is the payoff — and that only happens because of the dedication and craftsmanship of people like Mike and the Quarterhorse team. Hermeus is hiring for key roles on the test team and across the company. Join us: www.hermeus.com/careers

The team working on Quarterhorse is made up of people from across disciplines and backgrounds. What they share is the drive to do what it takes to fly the plane. “They care so much about the success of this flight. Not the fear of failing — they want to be responsible for something the company has never done.” - Marcus Spanolios Catch the latest episode of the Hermeus Podcast: Spaceport Edition, where our CEO and President sit down with members of the Quarterhorse team to talk about what it takes to push into new technical territory and the extreme ownership required to build and fly high-speed aircraft. Watch here: https://lnkd.in/dXMViHu8

Some call it engineering. Some call it magic. "There's something magical about creating big pieces of metal that move fast through the sky — it touches an imagination and a youthfulness in all of us." - Zach Shore At Hermeus, engineers get to build hardware and watch it fly months later, in service of a mission that actually matters. Catch the latest episode of the Hermeus Podcast here or on Spotify: https://lnkd.in/dXMViHu8

Live from New Mexico — it’s the Hermeus Podcast: Spaceport Edition. In this special episode, the team sits down outside the hangar at Spaceport America with a few of the many hardworking members of the Quarterhorse team to reflect on the road to first flight and the work it takes to bring a new aircraft from concept to flight line. From engineering and integration challenges to late-night checkouts and taxi tests, the team reveals what goes into building, testing, and flying a high-speed aircraft. Featuring: - AJ Piplica, CEO & Founder - Zach Shore, President - Mike Gilliland, Manager of Test Engineering - Marcus Spanolios, Manager of Manufacturing Engineering - Andrew Neal, Lead, Mission Systems Engineering Watch on YouTube: https://lnkd.in/dXMViHu8

Last year, we flew Quarterhorse Mk 1. Less than a year later, we’re prepping Mk 2.1: an F-16-sized jet built to break the sound barrier. It's larger, faster, and more powerful.  It’s the first of three jets in the Mk 2 lineup. Instead of waiting years between tests, we build and fly them in rapid succession. Real data from one flight feeds directly into the next, letting us steadily push the limits of speed and performance.  Mk 2.1 will fly supersonic. Mk 2.2 will go even faster. Subsequent phases like 2.3 will continue to push toward Hermeus’ end goal of unlocking sustained ramjet-powered flight and delivering operational hypersonic capability for the United States — this decade.  This is how we compress decades of aerospace development into months. Fast.  Quarterhorse Mk 2.1 at a glance:  -Roughly the size of an F-16   -Powered by a @PrattandWhitney F100 engine   -Designed for supersonic flight   -Delta wing configuration  Now, we prep for flight. Stay tuned.