The Team · Iron Hornet

Hollywood craft.
Defense-grade engineering.

We recruit from the ranks of those who already know what's at stake — Academy Award engineers, Navy top scientists, and Special Operations veterans. Hiring the best also means giving back to those who gave first.

1×
Academy Award · Technical Achievement
20+ yrs
Navy Top Scientist · NIWC Pacific
100%
Engineered, designed & assembled in America
Hiring Philosophy

Operators first.
Engineers always.

We build hardware that has to work when failure isn't an option — because some of us remember what that felt like.

Every Iron Hornet hire is tested against a single question: have they done the work under pressure? The people who've served under pressure build things that work under pressure. That's a standing commitment, not a recruiting slogan.

We combine defense-grade discipline with visual-effects craft — the same rigor that shipped Titanic ships the sensor on the fence.

Core · 01

Core Team

The people designing, engineering, and shipping every Iron Hornet platform.

IH-001 · CEO LH
Co-Founder & CEO

Laurence Hess

Lead visual-effects engineer turned defense manufacturer. Built pipelines for the biggest films in history. Now builds hardware for the people defending it.

Lead Engineer on feature pipelines at Digital Domain (James Cameron / Titanic) and DreamWorks Animation.Digital Domain · DreamWorks
Academy Award recipient — Technical Achievement.The Academy · AMPAS
Founder of Hess Systems and the Tornado image platform — production-grade CV at film scale.Hess Systems · Tornado
IH-002 · CSO JN
Chief Scientist

Joseph D. Neff, PhD

Two decades at the Navy's top R&D lab. Counter-IED systems, RF physics, and the kind of signal processing that keeps Americans alive.

20+ years at NIWC Pacific — named Navy Top Scientist of the Year.Naval Information Warfare Center, Pacific
PhD, Physics — led counter-IED and RF systems programs.Georgia Institute of Technology
Published researcher in nonlinear dynamics and sensor fusion.Peer-reviewed · classified & open
IH-003 · ME TP
Mechanical Engineer

Teddy Powell

Drone avionics, custom chassis, and rapid prototyping. If it flies, rolls, or holds an Iron Eyes in place — he made it.

Drone avionics, dual-axis gimbal design, and rapid mechanical prototyping.Iron Wings · Iron Eyes
Advanced manufacturing lead — custom chassis, tolerancing, and field-hardened enclosures.US-made · machined & printed
Owns the journey from CAD to shipping SKU — no offshore handoff.Design-for-manufacture
IH-004 · CORE BG
Principal Engineer — Core Technology

Brian Galloway

Two decades across machine vision, cybersecurity, and defense systems — from F-35 cockpit tech to classified networks. Now builds the platforms that scale Iron Hornet's truck-yard intelligence.

Platform architecture and scalable machine-vision systems — from agricultural vision to large-scale enterprise SaaS.GTRI · NCR
Classified-network security and defense systems engineering, including F-35 cockpit technologies.DISA · L3 Communications
Two decades shipping production systems across enterprise retail and blockchain-enabled gaming infrastructure.High-growth technology
Black belt in Taekwondo, still training in karate — the same discipline and precision he brings to the bench.Off the clock
IH-O01 · FIELD OPS WW
Director of Field Operations & Assembly

William Wiley

Owns the path from components to fully operational systems in the field — assembly, install, commissioning, and the cloud handshake that proves it's running.

Leads Iron Hornet's assembly operation — surveillance hardware, gravity-base masts, solar-powered modules, and mobile camera systems.Iron Hornet · Assembly floor
Trains, directs, and walks every install with the electricians and crews who deploy on customer sites.Field operations · QA
Single point of accountability from bench to live system — confirms every install is online and reporting end-to-end.Cloud & IT liaison
Built and runs the Iron Hornet logistics system — procurement, inventory, warehousing, and equipment movement.Supply chain · logistics
Background in advanced sensor system deployments for the U.S. government and counter-forced-labor SAS technologies.USG · Counter-Forced Labor SAS
Emergency medical services background — calm execution under pressure, rapid problem-solving when site conditions don't match the plan.EMS · Field protocols
Advisors · 02

Strategic Advisors

Operators and operators-turned-investors who've earned the right to weigh in.

IH-A01 · INTEL JW
Partner — LaunchTech, Rizk Ventures Global

James D. Wiley

Retired Lt. Colonel, USSOCOM. Now Principal & COO of Counter Forced Labor Technologies — holds the nation's highest clearance and built two units at USSOCOM.

Partner at LaunchTech, Rizk Ventures Global. Principal & Chief Operating Officer, Counter Forced Labor Technologies.LaunchTech · CFLT
Ret. Lt. Colonel, U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Special Operations Command. Holds the nation's highest clearance — HUMINT and SIGINT collections and analysis.USSOCOM · TS/SCI
Stood up two USSOCOM units (one active, one reserve); helped establish MARSOC and USSOCOM Det 1.Unit formation · doctrine
Led development, integration, and deployment of specialized SIGINT, signal-processing, sensor, and drone systems for the intelligence community and the Department of War.Sensor & drone systems
Spearheaded an industry-leading AI platform with Zero-Access Edge Native technology and data sovereignty — used to counter slave labor in corporate supply chains.AI · Edge-native · Supply chain
Operator, instructor, and team lead on protective details for presidents and foreign heads of state. Former VP, Reliant Global Solutions — counter-human-trafficking ops across Latin America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.Principal security · Global ops
IH-A02 · FIN MK
Strategic Advisor — Real Estate & Finance

Mike Keane

Naval Academy engineer who drove a fast-attack submarine, then spent a career moving billions through CMBS desks and property portfolios.

SVP Investments, Workspace Property Trust.Workspace Property Trust
Commercial mortgage-backed securities trading.JP Morgan
Former Lt., USS New Mexico (SSN-779) fast-attack submarine.United States Navy
B.S. Mechanical Engineering.United States Naval Academy
Now Hiring · Engineered, designed and assembled in America

Join a team that builds what matters.

Engineers, operators, and manufacturers who've held the line somewhere before — we want to hear from you. Remote and San Diego-based roles open now.