Hermeus · Jul 2026
Appointed Sameer Rao as CFO as the company scales after the Series C and recent flight-test milestones.
Company research
Public company, workplace, funding, and market signals
Updated Jul 29, 2026
Overview
Hermeus is a venture-backed defense aviation company that designs, builds, and tests high-Mach and hypersonic unmanned aircraft for national security missions. Its platform strategy centers on Quarterhorse for rapid flight testing, Darkhorse for reusable hypersonic UAS missions, and Chimera as the hybrid turbine/ramjet engine that powers the roadmap.
Primary product
Quarterhorse unmanned high-speed aircraft platform
Founded
2018
Headquarters
El Segundo / Los Angeles area, California, United States (new HQ announced in 2026; Atlanta remains a major production/ops site)
Team size
200-500
Work style
Onsite
Industry
Aviation and Aerospace Component Manufacturing
Sub-industry
Hypersonic defense aviation / high-speed aircraft
Offices
El Segundo, CA, United States
Los Angeles, CA, United States
Atlanta, GA, United States
Jacksonville, FL, United States
Funding
People & investors
Leadership
Executive Chairman / Co-Founder
Chief Executive Officer
Chief Technology Officer
Work & culture
Hermeus describes itself as a high-ownership, fast-moving organization with a breakneck development pace and intense build cycles. Public career materials emphasize teamwork, speed, ownership, and grit.
Work style
Onsite
Visa sponsorship
No
Compensation
Public postings show engineering salaries around $95k-$140k and $110k-$140k for some roles. Third-party salary data reports a median total compensation around $147.9k, with reported roles ranging from roughly $99.5k for recruiters to $163.2k for aerospace engineers.
Benefits
100% premium coverage for health, dental, and vision for employees and dependents
3 months paid parental leave
stock options
401(k) and retirement plans
Product & market
Pricing
Custom government/defense contract pricing; public product pricing is not disclosed.
Differentiators
- —hardware-first, rapid iterative prototyping
- —unmanned high-Mach and hypersonic aircraft focus
- —Quarterhorse test program that incrementally de-risks the platform
- —Chimera hybrid turbine/ramjet engine architecture
- —close partnership with U.S. defense customers
- —first privately developed unmanned supersonic jet milestone
- —emphasis on scaling from prototyping to mission-ready aircraft
Technology
Ansys
Siemens NX
Scale & contact
Estimated revenue
$1M-$10M (LinkedIn estimate; exact public revenue not disclosed)
Estimated monthly visits
38.5K
Traffic estimate as of Jul 2026
Latest news
Hermeus · May 2026
Added a $159M DIU contract modification, bringing the total ceiling to $219M for high-Mach flight and payload-release demonstrations with U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy support.
Hermeus · May 2026
Quarterhorse Mk 2.1 reached Mach 1.21 on its third test flight, marking the company’s first unmanned supersonic flight.
Hermeus · May 2026
Quarterhorse Mk 2.1 became the world’s first privately developed unmanned supersonic jet, marking a major milestone in the company’s flight-test roadmap.
Hermeus · May 2026
Zach Shore became CEO effective June 1, 2026, while AJ Piplica moved to Executive Chairman.