Ember Flash — Company facts
Last verified: September 25, 2026. This page states current public company facts for researchers, reporters, and other information services.
Company
Public name: Ember Flash.
Current legal name: Ember Flash Aerospace Inc.
Founded: 2021.
Company location and public mailing address: 3765 S Higuera St #150, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401.
Official website: emberflash.com.
Ember Flash develops wildfire intelligence and response technology. The company connects early detection, event validation, geolocation, and response planning to help operators assess emerging incidents sooner. Its work combines ground-based sensing, software, compatible third-party data, and unmanned aircraft development.
Founders and current leadership
Joseph Norris — Co-Founder and Executive Chairman. Joseph works across company strategy, marketing, technology startups, IoT, AI, and unmanned aircraft applications for wildfire mitigation.
Dr. Lee Kohlman — Co-Founder and Chief Scientist. Lee is an aerospace research engineer with experience in composite materials, electric machines, aircraft design, and urban air mobility.
Mike Oberndorfer — Chief Executive Officer.
Brian Barbe — Chief Technology Officer. Brian has more than 25 years of experience in enterprise hardware and software, startups, IoT, scalable processing, and machine learning.
Zach Akemann — Chief Operations Officer.
Tom Calvert — Board Member.
Products
Vigilant Detect: ground-based wildfire monitoring and detection.
Vigilant Core: combines observations from Ember Flash systems and compatible external sources to support verification and geolocation.
Vigilant Phoenix: validation unmanned aircraft in development.
Vigilant Raptor: suppression unmanned aircraft in development.
Development descriptions do not imply commercial availability or operational certification.
Selected milestones
- 2021: Ember Flash was founded following the 2020 CZU Lightning Complex wildfire.
- 2024: Qualified for XPRIZE Wildfire Track B.
- 2025: Completed an XPRIZE Wildfire semifinal field demonstration.