Director of Engineering, UAS Development

About the role

As the Director of Engineering for UAS Development at Harmattan AI, you will build and lead an engineering organisation from the ground up, overseeing the full technical chain from airframe design to series production. You will be responsible for delivering mission‑critical autonomous defence systems and establishing a robust supplier ecosystem.

Key responsibilities

• Stand up the engineering group, including hiring key engineering roles.
• Act as project manager to deliver key milestones.
• Own the full technical chain across airframe, propulsion, avionics, launcher and ground segment, through flight test and trials.
• Manage managers while staying close to engineering, running regular design reviews across multiple disciplines.
• Develop and maintain a supplier base and engineering ecosystem.

Required profile

• MSc in Mechanical, Aerospace, Electrical or related engineering field; extensive organisational building experience may outweigh the degree.
• Proven leadership progressing from engineer to manager of managers, with at least 10 years experience and 4 years in engineering management.
• Experience standing up or scaling an engineering site, hiring at pace.
• Track record of taking a hardware system through qualification into series production, preferably in UAV, autonomous systems or advanced robotics.
• Technical credibility across all disciplines, able to author written positions on cross‑module questions.
• Full dedication to Harmattan AI’s mission of building autonomous defence systems.