Composite Technician - Airframe

Job description

ABOUT US Harmattan AI is a next-generation defense prime building autonomous and scalable defense systems. Following the close of a $200M Series B, valuing the company at $1.4 billion, we are expanding our teams and capabilities to deliver mission-critical systems to allied forces. Our work is guided by clear values: building technologies with real-world impact, pursuing excellence in everything we do, setting ambitious goals, and taking on the hardest technical challenges. We operate in a demanding environment where rigor, ownership, and execution are expected. ABOUT THE ROLE As the composite technician on the Airframe team, your core mission is to prototype carbon structures fast, in-house — from mould to finished, quality-checked part — and to bring innovative solutions that make assembly and prototyping easier. A true hands-on professional, you combine technical skills, initiative, and a maker mindset. You build tooling, lay up and finish composite parts (carbon / glass fibre), and turn the engineers' CAD into flight-worthy structures on short cycles. You are also the owner of technical drawings and supplier quotations for the parts you handle, and the one who trains production operators when a design moves to series. You thrive with minimal supervision, favour pragmatic, quick-result approaches over perfect-but-slow tooling, and are equally comfortable laying up a part, machining or printing a mould, and reading a technical drawing. TECHNICAL SKILLS KEY RESPONSIBILITIES Rapid in-house prototyping (core) - Produce carbon prototype structures quickly in-house, choosing the fastest viable route rather than heavy tooling when a proto is the goal. - Propose innovative, simple solutions to speed up assembly and prototyping. - Design certain parts and prototyping tools yourself (fixtures, adapters, simple structural parts) when it is faster than going through the design loop. - Iterate fast with the design engineers: short loops between concept, part and feedback, flagging manufacturability issues before they cost a mould. Tooling & moulds - Build and maintain moulds and tooling, in coordination with the design team; machine or 3D-print mould masters, prepare and polish mould surfaces. - Design and build layup jigs, trimming templates, bonding and assembly fixtures. - Manage the composite workshop consumables and material inventory (fabrics, resins, cores, vacuum consumables) including storage and shelf-life follow-up. Design & documentation - Read and interpret 2D/3D drawings and ply books; model simple parts and tooling in CAD when needed; give manufacturability feedback early. - Own the technical drawings: produce and keep up to date the manufacturing drawings for the parts and tooling you handle. - Write and maintain clear, accessible fabrication procedures, ply books and cure logs on Confluence so processes are repeatable by others. - Optimise part designs for their manufacturing process: adapt geometries for plastic injection (wall thickness, draft angles, ribs) or for composite / 3D-printed fabrication (layup feasibility, demoulding, printability), in collaboration with the design engineers. Support & improvement - Support assembly and mechanical testing, including preparing test coupons and samples for structural analysis. - Identify and propose process and quality improvements; help run the composite workshop safely (dust extraction, PPE, resin handling and waste management). - Own the knowledge transfer to production: train the production operators on fabrication and assembly processes, and validate that a process is repeatable by others before handover. CANDIDATE PROFILE - Technical diploma or degree in composite materials, mechanical / aerospace manufacturing, industrial technology, or equivalent hands-on experience. - Proven experience in rapid in-house composite prototyping (carbon / glass fibre): hand layup, vacuum bagging, infusion and/or prepreg; mould making and surface preparation a strong plus. - Track record of quick, pragmatic solutions — getting a functional carbon part out fast, with sound trade-offs, rather than perfect parts requiring heavy tooling. - Ability to read technical drawings and ply books, and to control layup orientation, resin ratios, debulking and cure cycles with rigour and traceability. - Ability to produce manufacturing drawings (2D plans) - Understanding of design-for-manufacturing basics for plastic injection (wall thickness, draft angles) and composite / 3D-printed parts, to optimise geometries with the design engineers. - Hands-on finishing skills: trimming, sanding, drilling composites, structural bonding, insert fitting, and basic defect detection (porosity, delamination). - Proficiency with common fabrication tools (hand tools, bench equipment, 3D printer; basic machining appreciated); CAD literacy (Fusion 360, SolidWorks, FreeCAD or similar) to adapt tooling and jigs. - Highly autonomous — able to take ownership of tasks and drive them to completion with minimal supervision; resourceful and solution-oriented, comfortable improvising with available means. - Pedagogy and communication: able to write clear, accessible procedures and to train production operators so processes remain repeatable without you; rigorous on process, safety and documentation. We look forward to hearing how you can help shape the future of autonomous defense systems at Harmattan AI.