We are looking for a highly driven and experienced Head of Drive Train to own every powertrain component of our aircraft: motor, ESC, propeller, and battery. In this role, you will be responsible for the full lifecycle of your domain, from first design through qualification to series production, and for the engineering, cost, and supplier decisions that come with it. This is a leadership role where you will directly shape how our propulsion systems perform, how they scale, and how fast we get them into the field. You represent Drive Train in steering committees, you are the first point of escalation on technical feasibility, and you set up the production lines that turn our designs into delivered hardware.
The day-to-day
End-to-end domain ownership: drive all engineering, testing and qualification for your packages, frominitial design to series production, and own continuous product iteration afterwards.
Supplier and cost leadership: work with procurement from day one on early supplier involvement, design-to-cost and design-to-scale, and feed test results and feedback back into both suppliers and engineering.
Industrialization: develop and implement solution concepts for engineering, production and industrialization, and set up our internal production lines (Blue Print Lines) up to defined maturity before handover.
Budget, timeline and risk: own budgets, BOMs, critical paths and schedules, identifyblockers early, define mitigation strategies and report status straight to management.
Compliance and documentation: make sure every product meets functional but also non-functional quality, safety, qualificationand legal requirements. Represents the company during all audits in your area and ensures that established processes are practical and adhered to, and that all supporting evidence is available and correctly filed.
Technical Documentation: Own risk assessments, specifications and manuals. Create QMS related processes and bring it into the teams.
Workspace: Be responsible to all HSE and ESD-topics related to your area.
Cross-functional leadership: own all interfaces to other teams, represent Drive Train in steering committees and campaign reviews, and act as first escalation point for production, productand supplier quality.
You should apply if you
Education: you have completed a degree or vocational training in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, mechatronics, aerospace engineering, power electronics, energy or drive technology, or a comparable technical field.
Experience: you bring several years in drive train, propulsion, e-mobility, power electronics or battery systems, including at least one product you took from prototype to series production.
Technical depth: you are at home across the full chain of motor, ESC, propeller and battery, and you can judge a design on performance, thermal behaviour, safety and cost in the same conversation.
Industrialization mindset: you have built or scaled production and supplier processes yourself, and you know design-to-cost and make-or-buy decisions from practice, not from theory.
Standards: you have worked with ISO 9001 or AS/EN 9100, traceability requirements and export control, and you see them as guardrails rather than paperwork.
Leadership: you like building the system, not inheriting it. You are comfortable in a fast-moving start up where the process does not exist yet, and you communicate clearly in German and English, in the lab and in front of management.
Nice to haves
Defenseor aerospace: experience with UAV, aviation ordefenseprograms and their qualification logic.
Battery expertise: hands-on background in battery pack design, BMS or cell qualification.
BLDC-motor expertise: background in desgining BLDC-motors and bring them into production stage.
Test infrastructure: experience setting up propulsion test benches and measurement campaigns from scratch.
What we offer
Real impact & ownership: Shape high-tech defense systems and take responsibility from day one
Mission-driven environment: Work on technologies that matter for European security and sovereignty.
Competitive package: Competitive salary, EGYM Wellpass, corporate benefits, and equity options aligned with role and level.
Deep tech environment: Get hands-on experience with cutting-edge drone technology and real operational use cases.
Grow fast: Steep learning curve for juniors, strategic influence and leadership opportunities for seniors.
Startup mindset meets defence innovation: flat hierarchies, fast decisions, and space for your ideas.
Flexibility: Flexible hours, remote options, and relocation support.
Strong team: International, driven colleagues and a culture built on exchange, trust, and shared success.
Job details are sourced from the employer's original posting.
