Energetic Materials Engineer - NATO-Qualified Lab Lead

Harmattan AI; Lausanne; On-site; CHF 130,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Harmattan AI in Lausanne seeks an Energetic Materials Engineer to lead the selection, testing, and qualification of energetic materials for our warhead-focused systems. You will collaborate with systems, warhead and fuze engineers, test facilities, and external partners to ensure safe sourcing as we scale.

The role requires deep expertise in energetic materials chemistry, stability, NATO-aligned qualification, and hands-on material characterization.

Qualifications

• Master’s or PhD in Chemistry, Materials Science, or Chemical Engineering.
• Strong knowledge of explosive materials, propellants and pyrotechnics.
• Experience with NATO qualification standards.
• Hands-on experience with DSC, TGA, FTIR and Raman spectroscopy.
• Experience in material qualification for energetic systems.
• Fluent English.

Responsibilities

• Act as the internal reference on energetic materials chemistry and compatibility to guide material selection.
• Baseline energetic materials requirements across our products.
• Evaluate chemical stability, ageing and environmental sensitivity to define safe-for-use storage and operation requirements.
• Develop and oversee material qualification in line with NATO standards, internally and with external partners.
• Run hands-on material characterization and build the laboratory capability, in-house or through partners.
• Assess supplier specifications, process capability and quality requirements to ensure repeatability and traceability, and manage inspections and non-conformances.
• Support warhead and fuze engineers in sourcing and preparing materials for prototype testing and report results to systems engineers.
• Build qualification frameworks and guidance for the wider team, and contribute to growing an internal materials team.

Skills

Explosives knowledge

Propellants

Pyrotechnics

Explosive safety

Hazardous materials handling

NATO standards

Analytical techniques

DSC

TGA

FTIR

Raman spectroscopy

English fluency

Education

Master’s degree or PhD in Chemistry/Materials Science/Chemical Engineering

Tools

DSC

TGA

FTIR

Raman spectroscopy

Job description

Harmattan AI in Lausanne seeks an Energetic Materials Engineer to lead the selection, testing, and qualification of energetic materials for our warhead-focused systems. You will collaborate with systems, warhead and fuze engineers, test facilities, and external partners to ensure safe sourcing as we scale.

The role requires deep expertise in energetic materials chemistry, stability, NATO-aligned qualification, and hands-on material characterization.