(Senior) Factory Planning & Design Engineer

Hypersonica GmbH; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Hypersonica GmbH UK is seeking a senior industrial or mechanical engineer to lead factory design and production system layouts. You will define requirements, optimize material flow, and coordinate with manufacturing, EPC and design teams to deliver safe, efficient facilities.

You bring hands‑on delivery, strong fundamentals in layout engineering, and experience in high‑pressure, cross‑functional settings. This role offers high ownership and autonomy with impact on Europe’s defence manufacturing

Qualifications

• Senior industrial or mechanical engineer with factory design experience.
• Solid expertise in designing production systems and layouts.
• Experience collaborating with manufacturing, EPC and design teams.
• Proven ability to balance safety, efficiency and timelines.
• Comfortable driving deliverables under time pressure.

Responsibilities

• Define requirements and specifications for production sites based on BOM and BOP.
• Design optimized production plant layouts considering value stream and cycle times.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to gather facility design requirements.
• Own interfaces between manufacturing engineering and factory design teams.
• Supervise construction execution from an owners perspective for planning and commissioning.
• Support permitting processes with documentation and descriptions.
• Help develop standards for future European factory projects.

Skills

Factory design

Layout engineering

Material flow systems

Cross-functional leadership

Ambiguity management

Job description

What you'll do

• Define requirements and specifications for our production sites based on bill of material and bill of process.
• Design optimized production plant layouts, considering value stream, cycle times, material flow and safety requirements
• Work with cross-functional teams from manufacturing, EPC and design to gather requirements for the facility design from an architectural, utility and operations perspective.
• Own and manage the interface between manufacturing engineering and factory design teams, ensuring transparent requirement and issue tracking, consistent progress, change management and handling escalations.
• Supervise construction execution from an owners perspective for adherence to planning and timeline targets. Ensure readiness for equipment move-in and commissioning.
• Supporting permitting processes, providing supporting documentation & descriptions with regards to the manufacturing site.
• Help develop standards and best practices for future expansions and further European factory projects.

Who you are

• A (senior) industrial- or mechanical engineer with firsthand experience and solid expertise in designing factories and production systems.
• Experienced working on complex, integrated manufacturing systems. Ideally in aerospace,defence, or otherhigh‑performance, cross functional environments under intense time pressure.
• Used to working with different engineering & design traits such as manufacturing engineering, architects, MEP design, permitting and authorities.
• 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.
• Strong engineering fundamentals covering layout engineering, line balancing, material flow systems and requirement engineering
• 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.