Automation & Industrialization Director

About Us

Harmattan AI is a next-generation defense prime building autonomous and scalable defense systems. Following the close of a $200M Series B, valuing the company at $1.4 billion, we are expanding our teams and capabilities to deliver mission-critical systems to allied forces.

About the Role

Harmattan AI is moving from rapid product development and early serial production into high-volume industrial scale-up. Products, production volumes and manufacturing sites are evolving simultaneously.

The next phase requires a Senior Automation & Industrialisation Director who can translate engineering designs and volume requirements into robust, scalable and where justified increasingly automated production systems, while providing strong technical leadership to a diversely skilled team.

The objective is to strengthen both Harmattan AI's industrialisation capability and the technical maturity of the team, enabling the organisation to scale from today's manual and semi-automated processes toward significantly higher volumes and international manufacturing.

Responsibilities

The role will own the Automation & Industrialisation roadmap, including:

• Industrialisation of new products from prototype through stable serial production.
• DFM/DFA and Design for Automation with Engineering.
• Production process and line architecture.
• Workstations, tooling, fixtures, test equipment and semi-automated production systems.
• Automation concepts, specifications, supplier selection, commissioning and ramp-up.
• PFMEA, process validation and production-readiness activities.
• Cycle-time, capacity, line balancing, yield and labour-content optimisation.
• Identification of the correct automation level based on volume, maturity, quality, flexibility and ROI.
• Standardisation and replication of production systems across Harmattan AI manufacturing sites.
• Development of the manufacturing technology roadmap toward significantly higher production volumes.

Candidate Requirements

• 15-20+ years of relevant industrial experience (ideally in aerospace, defence, advanced electronics, or mechatronics) and has personally taken complex electromechanical products from prototype into high-volume or rapidly scaling serial production
• Ideally, combined experience from a highly developed industrial organisation with experience in a startup/scale-up, defence-tech, UAV, robotics or similarly fast-moving hardware environment.
• Hands-on experience with semi-automated and automated assembly systems, PLC-controlled equipment (Siemens preferred), and industrial tooling.
• Solid understanding of DFM/DFA, PFMEA, and lean manufacturing principles.
• Adaptability & Mobility: Thrives under pressure in a fast-paced, dynamic environment; embraces a “no-task-is-too-small” mentality. Willingness to travel and work flexible schedules (evenings/weekends as needed).
• Communication & Influence: Excellent written and verbal communication, capable of leading diverse principals – from junior members to senior executives.
• Commitment: 100% dedication to Harmattan AI’s mission, vision, and ambitious growth plans, ready to go the extra mile to ensure operational excellence.