Composite Production Manager

Electus Recruitment; Greater London; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

Electus Recruitment is seeking a Composite Production Manager for an autonomous UAV platform manufacturer in London. The role oversees end-to-end production of composite airframes, coordinating multiple components and external partners to deliver high-quality structures on schedule.

You will work with engineering, supply chain and quality teams to optimize lay-up, curing and assembly processes, while driving continuous improvement and fault analysis across UK and Europe.

Qualifications

• Extensive hands-on experience with advanced composite manufacturing.
• Strong technical understanding of composites production and DFMA principles.
• Experience coordinating multi-site manufacturing with external partners.

Responsibilities

• Oversee end-to-end production of UAV airframes.
• Coordinate multiple composite components against build requirements.
• Manage specialist subcontractors across UK/Europe and ensure tooling readiness.
• Monitor lay-up, cure cycles and post-cure processes for quality.
• Lead investigations into defects and drive corrective actions.

Skills

CFRP (carbon fibre) manufacture

Prepreg materials

Composite lay-up

Vacuum bagging

Autoclave processing

Cure/post-cure cycles

Bonded/fastened assemblies

Tooling & fixtures

Dimensional inspection

Root cause analysis

Education

Engineering degree or equivalent

Tools

CAD/CAM software

Job description

Composite Production Manager UAV Airframes London / UK & European Supplier Network | Advanced Composites | Aerospace & Defence

We are recruiting a Composite Production Manager for a rapidly growing autonomous systems business manufacturing advanced UAV platforms for international defence customers. This is a specialist composites manufacturing position with responsibility for the end-to-end production and delivery of composite airframes across a network of UK and European manufacturing partners. We are specifically looking for someone with significant practical experience of composite component and structural manufacture . This is not a general Production Manager position. Candidates need a strong technical understanding of advanced composites manufacturing processes.

The role

You will take ownership of the production of composite airframes from tooling and raw material availability through component manufacture, finishing, bonding and final structural assembly. You'll work closely with engineering, supply chain and quality while managing specialist external composite manufacturers.

Key responsibilities will include

• Managing end-to-end production of composite UAV airframes
• Coordinating multiple composite components and structural assemblies against aircraft build requirements
• Managing specialist composite subcontractors across the UK and Europe
• Ensuring mould tools, jigs and fixtures are production-ready
• Coordinating raw material availability against manufacturing schedules
• Monitoring composite lay-up and laminate manufacture
• Managing cure and post-cure processes
• Overseeing trimming, drilling, machining and finishing operations
• Coordinating bonded and mechanically fastened structural assemblies
• Managing final airframe assembly and delivery
• Reviewing manufacturing drawings, laminate specifications, BOMs and work instructions
• Working with engineering teams to improve Design for Manufacture and Assembly
• Managing manufacturing changes and their impact on tooling and production
• Investigating manufacturing defects and non-conformances
• Driving root-cause analysis and corrective action
• Improving manufacturing yield, repeatability and cycle times
• Monitoring supplier capacity, quality and delivery performance
• Developing recovery plans where production falls behind schedule
• Supporting industrialisation and production scale-up

Essential composites experience

Candidates should have substantial experience within advanced composite manufacturing and a strong working knowledge of several of the following:

• CFRP / carbon fibre composite manufacture
• Prepreg materials
• Composite lay-up
• Ply orientation and laminate schedules
• Vacuum bagging
• Autoclave processing
• Out-of-autoclave processing
• Cure and post-cure cycles
• Resin systems
• Core materials
• Honeycomb / sandwich structures
• Composite mould tools
• Tool preparation and release systems
• Structural adhesives
• Bonded composite assemblies
• Trimming and machining composite components
• Drilling and fastening composite structures
• Jigs and fixtures
• Dimensional inspection
• Composite repair/rework
• Final structural assembly

You should understand the manufacturing process behind a composite component , rather than simply having managed a business that happens to manufacture composites.

Production & quality experience

• Production planning and scheduling
• Manufacturing Bills of Materials
• Route cards / production travellers
• Manufacturing instructions
• Material traceability
• Batch control
• Prepreg shelf-life and freezer-life management
• Cure-cycle records
• Process control
• First Article manufacture / inspection
• Non-Conformance Reports
• Concessions and deviations
• Root Cause Analysis
• Corrective and Preventive Action
• Engineering change control
• Configuration control
• Quality documentation
• Supplier quality and performance
• Production readiness
• Industrialisation / NPI
• Supplier management

Backgrounds of particular interest

We are particularly interested in candidates from:

• UAV / UAS | Aerospace | Formula 1 | Motorsport | Defence | Advanced Automotive | High-Performance Marine Composites

Potential backgrounds could include: Composite Production Manager Composite Manufacturing Manager Senior Composite Manufacturing Engineer Composite Engineering Manager Manufacturing Engineering Manager Composite Operations Manager Composite Industrialisation Manager Production Engineering Manager

Candidates from Formula 1 and motorsport are particularly relevant where they have managed carbon composite structures from tooling and laminate manufacture through to completed structural assemblies.

What we don't need

This role is unlikely to suit a general manufacturing or operations manager without substantial composites experience. Likewise, a purely design-focused composites engineer may not have the production ownership required. We need someone who understands the practical realities of turning composite designs into repeatable, conforming physical structures against a production schedule .

The opportunity

• tooling
• materials
• manufacturing processes
• supplier capability
• quality
• production planning
• industrialisation
• scalability

If you have built your career around manufacturing high-quality composite structures and want responsibility for delivering complete UAV airframes, we'd like to hear from you. This role is Permanent and Travel is required3-4 days per week either London or the subcontractor facility.