Jorge De León Rivas

Jorge De León Rivas is a robotics engineer, researcher, and technology leader with extensive experience in the development of autonomous systems for defense, civil security, and dual-use applications. He is currently the CEO of Next Level Technologies (NLT), a Spanish company that designs and develops cutting-edge robotic systems tailored for military, security, and industrial missions.

Jorge earned his degree in Industrial Electronics Engineering from the University of La Laguna, completed a Master’s in Automation and Robotics at the Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM), and is finalizing a PhD in Robotics at the Center for Automation and Robotics (CAR), a joint research center between CSIC and UPM. His academic and professional work has focused on robotic locomotion, autonomous navigation, multi-agent systems, and the integration of artificial intelligence in both ground and aerial robotics.

Over the years, Jorge has led the development of robotic platforms designed for hostile and unstructured environments, including legged robots, tactical UAVs, and AI-guided systems. His core technical expertise includes ROS-based development, embedded control systems, motion planning, 3D printing for rapid prototyping, and swarm robotics.

As CEO of NLT, he drives innovation at the intersection of defense and civil applications. NLT actively participates in European programs such as Horizon Europe Cluster 3 (Civil Security for Society) and the European Defence Fund (EDF), with a clear focus on dual-use technologies that strengthen European strategic autonomy while supporting societal resilience.

Jorge is also a strong advocate for translating research into real-world applications, frequently presenting at major industry events such as FEINDEF, Eurosatory, and OnIndustry. He promotes a fast, modular, and mission-driven development model, enabling NLT to deliver agile solutions that are adaptable across a range of defense and civilian scenarios.