Design Release Engineer

Harmattan AI is seeking a Senior Design Release Manager to join their Airframe Team in Lausanne, Switzerland. This role is crucial for bridging the gap between mechanical concept and full-scale manufacturing, with complete ownership of the manufacturing dossier for composite structures and airframe modules. You will drive Design for Manufacturability and Design for Assembly directly within the design loop, set release standards, define GD&T, manage ECOs, and sign off on product transfer gates to manufacturing. We are looking for individuals who can help shape the future of autonomous defense systems.

Harmattan AI is a next-generation defense prime building autonomous and scalable defense systems. Following 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. Our work is guided by clear values: building technologies with real-world impact, pursuing excellence, setting ambitious goals, and tackling the hardest technical challenges in a demanding environment where rigor, ownership, and execution are expected.

Company Overview

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. Our work is guided by clear values: building technologies with real-world impact, pursuing excellence in everything we do, setting ambitious goals, and taking on the hardest technical challenges. We operate in a demanding environment where rigor, ownership, and execution are expected.

Quick Details

• Job Type: Full-time
• Experience: 5 Year+
• Qualifications: B.Sc. or M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Materials Science, or a related technical discipline.

Key Responsibilities

• Own and maintain the complete transfer package for your designated airframe module, including controlled drawing packages, bill of materials structures, material and finish specifications, critical characteristics, and acceptance criteria.
• Collaborate directly with mechanical design engineers early in the design phase to optimize composite layups, bonded joints, tooling interfaces, and tolerance stack-ups.
• Serve as the final authority on product release packages, evaluating transfer readiness against gate standards before handing hardware over to manufacturing operations.
• Manage engineering change orders and serve as the single technical contact for drawing dispositions, non-conformance reviews, and design clarification requests from the production line.
• Work closely with production operations and external suppliers to evaluate manufacturing constraints for composite structures and precision assemblies.
• Analyze initial production build data and floor feedback to refine manufacturing dossiers and update gate standards for future design iterations.

Requirements

• Practical mastery of applying GD&T with intent, performing tolerance stack-up analyses, and defining clear acceptance criteria.
• Strong working knowledge of composite materials, layup sequences, tooling limitations, cure cycles, and bonded structural joints.
• Proven experience owning released drawing packages, managing structured bill of materials, and running engineering change order workflows.
• Demonstrated success integrating manufacturing and assembly principles directly into active design reviews rather than conducting post-design audits.
• Professional proficiency in both English and French.

Benefits

• Direct ownership in defining the release and manufacturing transfer standards for high-performance defense airframes.
• Active collaboration with design engineers early in the development cycle where engineering decisions carry high leverage.
• High-visibility technical impact across fast-scaling, hardware-centric production programs.