Head of Composites

About the role

AirQ Limited is expanding its UAV manufacturing capabilities and seeks a senior leader to head the composites manufacturing function. The Head of Composites will be responsible for the full production chain, from material preparation through curing, demolding and final part release, building a world‑class composites operation.

Key responsibilities

• Provide strategic direction and overall leadership 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.
• Design and scale a composites organization aligned with current and future UAV programmes, defining structure, manpower and performance expectations.
• Develop and execute manufacturing strategies to meet program schedules, capacity targets and cost objectives.
• Identify bottlenecks, manage capacity constraints and drive continuous improvement across the production line.
• Ensure compliance with aerospace‑quality standards and deliver consistent product quality.

Required profile

• Proven senior‑level leadership experience in composite manufacturing, preferably in aerospace or UAV environments.
• Deep technical expertise in all stages of composite production, including lay‑up, vacuum infusion, autoclave curing and demolding.
• Strong track record of building and scaling high‑performance production teams.
• Experience with capacity planning, process control and cost‑reduction initiatives.

Required skills

• Wet layup
• Root cause analysis
• Composite manufacturing
• Composite demolding
• Vacuum infusion
• Vacuum bagging
• Composite finishing and inspection
• Manufacturing quality
• Process control
• Capacity planning
• Production optimization
• Production strategy
• Cost scrap reduction
• Prepreg processing
• Autoclave and oven curing
• New product introduction