Cola e is the fi st tech ical sc ee i g platfo m fo c itical i dust ies such as ae ospace, ma ufactu i g, e e gy a d mo e that helps to validate hi es faste . Wo ki g with multi billio dolla space compa ies to seed stage sta tups to fi d thei fi st hi e, it has lau ched with a $2.5M ou d to scale the fi st hi i g platfo m desig ed a ou d eal-wo ld ha dwa e skills
Sa F a cisco, CA, Oct. 26, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The compa ies buildi g ockets, satellites, defe se systems, a d the facto ies behi d them a e ope i g e gi ee i g oles faste tha thei ow e gi ee s ca sc ee fo them. But, hi i g a si gle mecha ical, elect ical, o embedded e gi ee takes oughly 40 hou s of se io e gi ee i g time ac oss pho e sc ee s, take-home eviews, a d multi-hou o site i te views, because the e has bee o eliable way to test ha dwa e skills. Today Cola e lau ched publicly to cha ge that. The Sa F a cisco compa y u s simulatio -based tech ical assessme ts that let ha dwa e teams watch ca didates solve ealistic e gi ee i g p oblems i the tools they would use o the job, befo e a yo e books a i te view.
Cola e fou de s: Esthe Thomas a d Nai Abdi.
The lau ch is accompa ied with a $2.5 millio p e-seed i fu di g to scale its simulatio -based hi i g platfo m, which lets compa ies watch ca didates solve ealistic e gi ee i g p oblems. The ou d i cludes Afo e Capital, Ga age Capital a d Acadia Ve tu es.
Why ha dwa e hi i g is b eaki g The most eliable way to u de sta d whethe a e gi ee ca do a job is to watch them wo k. I ha dwa e, that has histo ically bee almost impossible to do at scale.
Ae ospace, defe se, a d ma ufactu i g a e amo g the la gest employe s of ha dwa e e gi ee s, a d they sc ee ca didates th ough multiple tech ical ou ds: p ese tatio s, take-home exe cises, a d o sites. The ou ds that actually test the job come last a d ca o ly be u by e gi ee s, so eve y ca didate who should have bee filte ed ea lie d ai s sca ce e gi ee i g time. Fu the compou di g the issue, ae ospace ma ufactu i g al eady u s at a 15% att itio ate, mo e tha double the ate of othe secto s, a d 29 pe ce t of the ae ospace a d defe se wo kfo ce is 55 o olde , so the hi i g load is isi g just as the people qualified to judge ca didates a e leavi g. Mea while, the U.S. Bu eau of Labo Statistics p ojects oughly 3,800 ae ospace e gi ee ope i gs a yea th ough 2031 just to keep pace with g owth a d eti eme ts
“Ha dwa e compa ies a e buildi g some of the most tech ically ambitious p oducts i the wo ld, a d they a e still evaluati g e gi ee s with p oxies fo whethe someo e ca actually do the job,” said Esthe Thomas, Co-Fou de a d Co-CEO of Cola e. “Ultimately fo a y ambitious p oduct, success o failu e comes dow to the team. This is pa ticula i ha dwa e, whe e o e w o g hi e could mea a failed lau ch, a delayed missio o a lost co t act. Due to the high isk of doi g it w o g, e gi ee s have to stop buildi g to i te view. Ou goal is to b i g Cola e to take the i tuitio that e gi ee s use to sc ee thei hi es a d tu ed it i to tech ical assessme ts that ca be scaled ac oss the e ti e ca didate pool.
AI is maki g t aditio al sig als weake . Résumés ca be i flated, i te view a swe s ca be assisted, a d polished p ofiles i c easi gly eveal less about how someo e will pe fo m i the job (G ee house, 2026 be chma k epo t). Fo ha dtech compa ies scali g quickly, that c eates p essu e o both sides: hi i g dema d is isi g while co fide ce i the t aditio al sc ee i g p ocess is falli g.”
How Cola e wo ksCola e is a specialized tech ical assessme t platfo m fo ha dwa e tale t sc ee i g. Cola e maps the ole based o the compa y’s job desc iptio to e gi ee i g assessme ts ac oss discipli es i cludi g CAD, PCB desig , the mal a alysis, FEA, systems p oblem solvi g, a d mo e.
The simulatio s ec eate the decisio s e gi ee s face o the job. Cola e evaluates both p ocess a d fi al output, etu s a detailed deb ief, assessi g ca didates, a d ha dles scheduli g a d i dust y-specific hi i g wo kflows.
That domai depth matte s because ha dwa e e gi ee i g a ely has o e co ect a swe . E gi ee s co sta tly make t adeoffs ac oss pe fo ma ce, cost, ma ufactu ability, eliability, a d physical co st ai ts.
Cola e builds its assessme ts a ou d those judgme ts, usi g ub ics i fo med by se io e gi ee s who have shipped ha dwa e. The goal is to tu the i tuitio a expe ie ced e gi ee uses to ecog ize st o g tale t i to a sig al that ca scale ac oss hu d eds of ca didates.
T actio Cola e is al eady wo ki g with compa ies a gi g f om ewly fu ded sta tups to multi-billio -dolla ae ospace ma ufactu e s, with half of its clie ts cu e tly ope ati g i ae ospace a d defe se.
Nai Abdi, Co-Fou de a d Co-CEO of Cola e added: “We a e wo ki g with some of the leadi g space, ma ufactu i g, a d ha dwa e teams, we saw the le gths they we e goi g to de ive tech ical sig als. Because ha dwa e e gi ee i g is ot about memo izi g a equatio – it’s how you take that k owledge a d apply it to the co st ai ts of buildi g i the physical wo ld. Ou assessme ts a e g ou ded i fi st p i ciples, eal e gi ee i g wo k ac oss c itical i dust ies a d discipli es. Testi g ot just o e, o th ee, but hu d eds of ca didates, o the same ba .”
Fo a two-pe so chemical ma ufactu i g sta tup hi i g its fi st elect ical e gi ee , Cola e became the tech ical evaluatio laye the fou de s did ot have i -house. At a subsidia y of a public ma ufactu e , Cola e flagged majo e gi ee i g gaps i a ca didate who had clea ed the i itial sc ee a d was headed fo the CEO ou d, catchi g the p oblem befo e it eached se io leade ship.
“I’ve u HR p ocesses at a couple diffe e t sta tups, a d I thi k the e’s some co e thi gs that always go i to it […] but o e of the challe ges I’ve always had is actually doi g a tech ical i te view fo someo e — especially fo us, give eithe of us a e elect ical e gi ee s. We do ‘t k ow what good looks like i a a swe . ” said Joh Slack, CEO Rhoic. “I stead of usi g se io e gi ee s to discove basic capability late i the p ocess, we ca see much ea lie how ca didates app oach the wo k they would actually be doi g he e.”
The o igi sto y Cola e was fou ded by Nai Abdi a d Esthe Thomas afte Abdi e cou te ed the p oblem fi stha d as a elect ical e gi ee at Fo d. His team had stopped t usti g ésumés because ca didates who looked st o g o pape ofte st uggled i tech ical i te views.
The p oblem is g owi g as ha dtech hi i g accele ates. Ae ospace a d defe se fu di g eached $35.6 billio i the fi st half of 2026, while o e Cola e space custome is addi g up to 50 ope oles a mo th.
What’s extEve y assessme t Cola e u s captu es somethi g a ésumé eve has: how a e gi ee actually thi ks th ough eal wo k. The lo g-te m bet is that as that sig al compou ds, skill eplaces pedig ee as the c ede tial compa ies hi e o .
Media images ca be fou d he e.
About Cola eCola e is the fi st tech ical assessme t fo ha dwa e tale t sc ee i g. Cola e has ha essed the i tuitio that e gi ee s use to sc ee thei hi es a d tu ed it i to tech ical assessme ts that ca be scaled ac oss the e ti e ca didate pool. It u s simulatio -based e gi ee i g assessme ts that show how a ca didate actually thi ks, builds, a d solves befo e a yo e gets o a call.
Cola e wo ks with some of the leadi g space, ma ufactu i g, a d ha dwa e teams. Fo mo e i fo matio please visit: https://www.cola e.com/
CONTACT: Fo fu the i fo matio please co tact the Cola e p ess office via Bilal Mahmood o b.mahmood@stockwoodst ategy.com o +447714007257
