LA-based Hermeus Hiring for ML Role
Los Angeles high-growth startup Hermeus is hiring a Principal Operational Analysis and Modeling Engineer. The role specifically requires ML and Python skills, representing a direct opportunity for computer science grads looking to enter the local AI/ML aerospace scene.
Hermeus was founded in 2018 by former employees of SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Generation Orbit, including CEO AJ Piplica. The company's primary mission is to develop hypersonic aircraft capable of flying at Mach 5 (over 3,000 miles per hour), which would drastically reduce global travel times—for example, a flight from New York to London could be cut to 90 minutes. The Atlanta-based startup has secured significant financial backing, raising $239 million across five funding rounds. A major $100 million Series B round was led by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, with participation from venture capital firms like Founders Fund and Khosla Ventures. Hermeus also holds a $60 million contract with the U.S. Air Force to build and test its autonomous Quarterhorse aircraft. Hermeus employs a rapid, iterative development strategy, aiming to design, build, and fly a new aircraft annually—a pace unseen in aviation for decades. This approach is embodied by its Quarterhorse program, a series of uncrewed test aircraft. The Quarterhorse Mk 1 was built for high-speed takeoff and landing tests at Edwards Air Force Base, while the supersonic Mk 2 completed its first flight in early 2026. The Quarterhorse program serves as a stepping stone for two main product lines: "Darkhorse," a reusable hypersonic drone designed for defense and national security missions, and "Halcyon," a planned commercial passenger aircraft. Data from each Quarterhorse flight directly informs the development of these more advanced vehicles. The core technology enabling these speeds is a proprietary turbine-based combined cycle engine named Chimera. This hybrid engine is designed to function as a standard turbojet at lower speeds before transitioning to a ramjet to achieve and sustain hypersonic flight. Hermeus successfully tested the full-scale engine's transition between modes in 2022. While headquartered in Atlanta, Hermeus maintains a Los Angeles office, tapping into a booming regional aerospace ecosystem. The LA area, sometimes dubbed "Space Beach," has seen its space vehicle and missile sector employment grow roughly eightfold from 2010 to 2024. The county's aerospace and defense industries added 11,000 jobs between 2022 and 2024 alone. The demand for ML engineers in aerospace is driven by the need to solve complex computational problems. AI and ML are used to accelerate aerodynamic simulations, optimize structural designs, and enable predictive maintenance by analyzing sensor data to forecast component failures before they happen. These technologies are critical for improving the safety, efficiency, and speed of designing next-generation aircraft.
