Director of Satellite Manufacturing & Test Systems

Loft Orbital; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Loft Orbital is seeking a Director of Design-to-Manufacturing (D2M) to lead the team translating product and program requirements into validated, scalable manufacturing and test systems for satellite production and launch readiness.

The role oversees Manufacturing Systems & MGSE, Verification & Validation Test Engineering, and Test Platform & EGSE, establishing a technical operating model that links Product Engineering to AIT Operations and ensures repeatable performance from design to readiness

Qualifications

• Strong manufacturing and test engineering experience translating complex designs into production-ready systems.
• MGSE and EGSE development, validation, and support.
• Experience with hardware-in-the-loop / software-in-the-loop testing environments.
• Design for Manufacturing, Assembly and Test (DFM/DFA/DFT) knowledge with real examples.
• Proven technical leadership across multiple engineering disciplines.

Responsibilities

• Lead manufacturing and test teams: Manage Manufacturing Systems & MGSE, Verification & Validation Test Engineering, and Test Platforms & EGSE.
• Turn engineering requirements into production-ready processes: Oversee work instructions, BOMs, routings, assembly workflows, tooling and validation.
• Ensure test readiness: Oversee test methods, procedures, scripts, limits, configurations and verification evidence.
• Own test infrastructure readiness: Guide development, validation, deployment and maintenance of test benches and spacecraft interfaces.
• Review designs for manufacturability and testability with cross-functional teams to reduce rework.
• Resolve manufacturing and test issues: conduct root-cause investigations and corrective actions.
• Manage priorities and performance: track readiness, quality, schedule, cost, throughput and risks.
• Standardize and scale operations: establish reusable tooling, test platforms and handoffs to AIT.
• Coach and develop the team: clarify ownership and strengthen cross-functional collaboration.

Skills

Manufacturing engineering

Test engineering

MGSE/EGSE expertise

HIL/SIL integration

DFM/DFT/DFT

Technical leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Hands-on problem solving

Tools

ERP/MES systems

Job description

Loft Orbital is seeking a Director of Design-to-Manufacturing (D2M) to lead the team translating product and program requirements into validated, scalable manufacturing and test systems for satellite production and launch readiness.

The role oversees Manufacturing Systems & MGSE, Verification & Validation Test Engineering, and Test Platform & EGSE, establishing a technical operating model that links Product Engineering to AIT Operations and ensures repeatable performance from design to readiness