Head of Composites

AirQ Limited is an advanced UAV and aerospace technology company focused on developing and manufacturing next-generation unmanned aerial systems. As we expand our manufacturing capabilities, we are looking for an experienced Head of Composites to lead our composite manufacturing function and establish a world-class composites production operation.

About the Role

The Head of Composites will have overall responsibility for the composite manufacturing function at AirQ, owning the complete production process from material preparation and layup through vacuum bagging, curing, demolding, and final part release.

This is a senior leadership position responsible for building and scaling the composites function, developing manufacturing capabilities, ensuring quality and delivery performance, optimizing capacity and cost, and developing a highly skilled production team.

The successful candidate will bring deep technical expertise in composite manufacturing together with strong leadership, production management, process optimization, and aerospace-quality standards.

Key Responsibilities

Composites Function Leadership

• Provide overall leadership and strategic direction for the Composites Manufacturing function .
• Own the end-to-end composite production process, including:
• Material Preparation
• Lamination
• Vacuum Bagging
• Curing / Autoclave
• Demolding
• Finishing and Part Release
• Establish and develop a scalable composites manufacturing organization aligned with AirQ's production requirements and future growth.
• Define organizational structure, manpower requirements, responsibilities, and performance expectations for the composites team.
• Develop and implement manufacturing strategies to support current and future UAV production programs.

Production & Capacity Management

• Own composite production capacity, output, delivery, and manufacturing performance.
• Develop production plans and ensure the composites function meets program schedules and delivery commitments.
• Identify capacity constraints, bottlenecks, and resource requirements and implement appropriate solutions.
• Optimize manpower, equipment, tooling, materials, and production flow.
• Establish production targets and monitor performance against agreed KPIs.
• Ensure efficient utilization of manufacturing resources while maintaining quality and safety standards.

Process & Manufacturing Excellence

• Establish, maintain, and continuously improve SOPs, work instructions, process specifications, acceptance criteria, and quality gates .
• Develop robust and repeatable composite manufacturing processes.
• Drive standardization and process control across composite production.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives to improve productivity, quality, yield, and manufacturing efficiency.
• Reduce scrap, rework, defects, material wastage, and manufacturing cycle times.
• Lead root-cause analysis and corrective/preventive actions for recurring production issues.
• Support the industrialization and production introduction of new composite components and UAV platforms.

Quality & Compliance

• Ensure all composite manufacturing activities comply with applicable quality standards, engineering requirements, and internal procedures.
• Establish effective in-process inspection and quality checkpoints throughout the composite manufacturing flow.
• Work closely with the Quality and Engineering teams to resolve manufacturing and product-quality issues.
• Ensure traceability of materials, processes, and production records.
• Drive a culture of first-time-right manufacturing and continuous quality improvement.

Team Leadership & Development

• Lead, mentor, and develop composite manufacturing engineers, supervisors, technicians, and operators.
• Establish competency requirements and training programs for composite manufacturing personnel.
• Build a strong culture of accountability, safety, quality, and operational excellence.
• Identify skill gaps and implement structured capability-development programs.
• Establish performance objectives and KPIs for the composites organization.

Engineering & Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Quality, Procurement, Supply Chain, Production Planning, and Flight Operations teams.
• Collaborate with engineering teams to ensure designs are optimized for manufacturability, repeatability, cost, and production scale.
• Provide manufacturing feedback during new product development and design reviews.
• Support tooling, fixtures, process development, and production-readiness activities.
• Evaluate and implement new composite manufacturing technologies, equipment, and processes.

Cost & Continuous Improvement

• Own and drive initiatives to improve composite manufacturing cost efficiency.
• Monitor material consumption, scrap, labor utilization, and process costs.
• Identify opportunities to improve production economics without compromising quality or performance.
• Establish a culture of data-driven decision-making and continuous improvement.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Materials Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Composite Engineering , or a related discipline.
• 10+ years of experience in composite manufacturing , with significant leadership or management experience.
• Strong hands-on and technical knowledge of:
• Prepreg processing
• Wet layup
• Vacuum infusion / vacuum bagging
• Autoclave and oven curing
• Composite demolding
• Composite finishing and inspection
• Proven experience leading a composite manufacturing department or production function.
• Experience in aerospace, UAV, aviation, automotive, defense, or other high-performance composite manufacturing environments is highly desirable.
• Strong understanding of composite manufacturing process control, quality systems, production planning, and industrialization.
• Demonstrated experience scaling production and building high-performing manufacturing teams.

Core Competencies

• Composite Manufacturing Leadership
• Production Strategy & Capacity Planning
• Composite Process Engineering
• Manufacturing Quality & Process Control
• Production Optimization
• Continuous Improvement
• Cost & Scrap Reduction
• Team Building & Leadership
• Industrialization & New Product Introduction
• Cross-Functional Leadership
• Problem Solving & Root Cause Analysis
• Manufacturing Excellence