Lead, Software Application

nerostechnologies; Torrance (CA); On-site; USD 198,000 - 277,000; Full time

Job summary

Neros is seeking a Lead, Software Application Engineer to own the development of web, desktop, and Android tools and the related backend services. You will guide a growing team across multi‑platform stacks, ensuring offline functionality and robust data pipelines for mission planning, configuration, and flight data analysis.

You will balance hands-on coding with architectural leadership, review PRs, and collaborate with leadership to drive high-quality delivery across front‑end, service, and

Qualifications

• Leads a software team with hands-on management and technical direction.
• Strong background in modern web and cross‑platform desktop app development and backend services.
• Experience building offline-capable applications with reliable data syncing.
• Sharp judgment on architecture, data modeling, security, and build vs. buy decisions.
• Acts as a bridge between team and leadership to manage expectations and unblock work.
• Keeps coding and code review active while owning architecture across front-end, services, and data.

Responsibilities

• Lead and grow the team across application and backend development—hiring, mentorship, performance management.
• Own application development end to end across Windows, Linux, macOS, and web.
• Own the backend—services, APIs, data pipelines, identity, tenancy, and software update
• Build for offline: ensure tools work with or without backend connection
• Make hard architectural calls and set engineering quality standards (code review, testing, CI/CD, observability)
• Stay hands-on: review code and own architecture beyond process
• Maintain security posture and data integrity across platforms

Skills

Team leadership

Cross-platform applications

Backend services & APIs

Offline-first architecture

Architecture review

Stakeholder communication

Hands-on coding

Tools

Electron

CI/CD

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 first-person-view drones for the modern battlefield. As a Lead, Software Application Engineer, you will own the development of applications - the web, desktop, and Android tools and backend services our operators and engineers use to plan missions, configure the system, and record and analyze flight data. You will own the development, quality, and delivery across both, and grow the team behind them.

Responsibilities

• Lead and grow the team across application and backend development - hiring, mentorship, and performance management
• Own application development end to end using modern cross-platform stacks spanning Windows, Linux, macOS, and web
• Own the backend behind them - services and APIs, data pipelines into our analytics datalake, identity and tenancy, and software update
• Build for offline: our tools run with or without a connection to the backend, and offline is a normal operating state rather than a failure to handle
• Make the hard architecture calls - front-end architecture, build vs. adopt, data model, tenancy and security, local vs. backend state
• Set and uphold engineering and operational quality - code review, testing, CI/CD, observability, on-call
• Stay hands-on: review code and own architecture, not just process

You should have the following

• Has led a software team as a hands-on manager - owning both people management and technical direction
• Strong background in application development (modern web and cross-platform desktop) and the backend behind it (services, APIs, data, identity, CI/CD, observability) - you can lead and review across both
• Experience building applications that work offline - local-first state, syncing when a connection returns, and staying fully usable while disconnected
• Strong judgment on application architecture, build vs. adopt, data modeling, and security trade-offs
• Able to operate as the interface between the team and leadership - managing expectations upward and clearing blockers
• Player-coach: still writes code and reviews PRs, and is technically credible enough to own architecture across front-end, service, and data

Nice to Have

• Cross-platform desktop delivery (Electron or similar) shipped to real users
• Android development, particularly device-facing or field-tool applications
• Defense, industrial, robotics, or field-deployed apps and backends
• Data-pipeline and analytics depth - streaming, time-series, telemetry at scale
• Identity/access/tenancy for multi-customer or multi-tenant systems
• Experience building a team spanning app and backend development from a small nucleus

US Salary Range

$198,000 - $277,000 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.