He is a recognized leader in uncrewed systems development and operations. Mr. Manley has been working with marine technology and robotics since 1990. He was a principal in the development of uncrewed marine vehicles at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1993 to 2002. Between 2002 and 2009 Mr. Manley provided marine technology consulting services, primarily to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) where he was the founding Chair of the NOAA-wide AUV Working Group.
In 2009 Mr. Manley transitioned to the private sector, joining Liquid Robotics during its startup phase. There he was responsible for developing new commercial and scientific programs based on the Wave Glider. In 2011 Mr. Manley joined Teledyne Benthos as Senior Director of Business Development where he managed a diverse product portfolio and led the development of a networked systems strategy across Teledyne Marine Systems (Benthos, Webb Research, Gavia, and SeaBotix).
Drawn back to entrepreneurial endeavors Mr. Manley founded Just Innovation Inc. in mid-2015.He supports clients from startups to multi-national corporations with core technical specializations in uncrewed vehicles, robotics, sensors, and undersea systems. Mr. Manley offers clients support with strategy and innovation, business and product development, evangelism, and marketing. In this capacity he serves as Senior Advisor to Oceankind and as a Technology Venture Partner for Alpha Impact Investment Managers (AiiM).
Mr. Manley is extensively involved in the marine technology profession through a variety of leadership roles. He is a Senior Member of IEEE, a Life Member and President of the Marine Technology Society (MTS), a Fellow of the Institute for Marine Engineering Science and Technology (IMAREST) and was a founding member of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) Advisory Committee. He is dedicated to innovation, serving as an advisor to numerous startup companies and a judge for the XPRIZE Foundation. He holds two patents in the area of uncrewed systems oversight and security.