Senior Manufacturing Engineer - DFM

Hypersonica GmbH; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Mission driven environment

Autonomy

Share options

No time tracking

Job summary

Hypersonica in Europe seeks a Senior Manufacturing Engineer to bridge design and production across aerospace/defence programs. You will lead manufacturing decisions from early project phases, drive DFM and collaborate with vendors to accelerate time-to-market. The role emphasizes hands-on, cross‑functional leadership in a fast‑paced, autonomous environment. You will document processes and support build, integration, and test when needed.

Qualifications

• Senior Manufacturing Engineer with firsthand expertise in manufacturing/assembly.
• Experience working on complex, integrated manufacturing systems, ideally in aerospace/defence.
• Experience managing partners and suppliers to meet goals and timelines.

Responsibilities

• Be the focal point between product development and manufacturing.
• Ensure manufacturing-optimized design decisions from early project phases and advise the engineering team.
• Represent manufacturing in concept development, design reviews, and risk mitigation; develop improvements.

Skills

Manufacturing

Assembly

DFM

Engineering fundamentals

Problem-solving

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

• Asenior 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 otherhigh‑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.