Senior Manufacturing Engineer - DFM

Job description

**Help Build Europe's Hypersonic Capability**At **Hypersonica**, we’re redefining what’s possible in European defence technology. We exist to deliver speed, resilience, and technological independence at a pace that sets a new standard. We are a small, elite team working on problems that matter, and solving them fast. By joining **Hypersonica**, you’re not stepping into a predefined role. You’re joining a talent dense environment where every individual shapes the direction of the company. Our philosophy is to hire a small number of exceptional people with broad, deep technical capability, strong judgement, and the ability to operate autonomously. We hire for talent, not rigid boxes. This role represents a business need, but the way it evolves will be shaped by the individual. If you’ve achieved what others said was impossible, or you bring a unique combination of skills that doesn’t fit a traditional mould, we want to hear from you. The work you do here directly contributes to Europe’s technological independence. ### What you'll do - You’ll be the focal point between product development (Engineering) and industrialization (Manufacturing) - Ensure manufacturing optimized design decisions from early project phases. Advise and consult the engineering team based on your expertise in manufacturing. - Represent manufacturing in concept development, design meetings and design reviews. Flagging risks and proactively developing solutions and suggestions for improvements. - Follow the entire manufacturing engineering process until full production rate to capture lessons learned and best practices from each program to implement into following design projects. - Develop tools and processes to ensure an effective and efficient DFM process, supportive to Engineering teams and overall accelerating the time to market and efficiency. - Suggest technologies and processes to be considered. Initiate strategic competence build-up if beneficial and required to a program. - Work with vendors and equipment manufacturers to identify innovative solutions to manufacturing problems. Drive co-development for highly specialized processes & technologies. - Operate as a manufacturing all‑rounder, bridging detailed process design with factory‑level thinking to ensure coherent design and seamless integration into the manufacturing system at exceptional industrialization speed. - Identify process‑level risks and trade‑offs early, driving mitigations through design, analysis, or process changes. - Produce and maintain clear documentation, including drawings, specifications, and design justifications. - Act as a technically credible problem‑solver in ambiguous environments, closing decisions and keeping programs moving at pace. ### Who you are - A senior Manufacturing Engineer with firsthand expertise and experience in manufacturing / assembly. Ideally combined with experience in product design or previous DFM roles. - Experienced working on complex, integrated manufacturing systems. Ideally in aerospace, defence, or other high‑performance, cross functional environments under intense time pressure. - Managing partners and suppliers proficiently and effectively. Motivating everyone to go above and beyond to achieve common goals and timelines. - Dealing well with ambiguity and uncertainty, willing to anticipate, test and reconsider if necessary. - Comfortable operating at multiple levels of abstraction from detailed design to work center‑ or system‑level. - Experienced working on complex, integrated systems, ideally in aerospace, defence, or other high‑performance hardware environments. - Strong engineering fundamentals covering process- and product design - Pragmatic and delivery‑focused, able to make sound engineering trade‑offs without over‑engineering - Comfortable collaborating across disciplines and acting as a technical integrator, not just a specialist. - Hands‑on by instinct, willing to support build, integration, and test when needed. - Calm and effective in ambiguous, fast‑moving environments where priorities evolve. - Motivated by building real, high‑consequence hardware where mechanical and system correctness truly matter. ### What we offer - A mission driven environment with the opportunity to work on one of Europe’s most consequential defence challenges, with direct impact on sovereign capability and security. - Daily collaboration with top experts across engineering, operations, and defence, with real opportunity to learn from the best, contribute, and grow. - High ownership and autonomy; no time tracking, no micromanagement, just clear objectives and accountability for outcomes. - A fast paced environment where good ideas are implemented quickly, and feedback from test and flight drives real decisions. - A culture that values clarity, integrity, and excellence, and supports people who take initiative and push boundaries responsibly. - Competitive compensation and real share options aligned to responsibility and impact, not tenure or hierarchy.