Director of Engineering - Mission… at Harmattan AI · Lausanne

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. 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. About the Role As the Director of Engineering for Mission Intelligence at Harmattan AI, you will act as a vital management layer between R&D modules and leadership, focusing on elevating our people and standardising our engineering excellence. This is a "hands-off" people management role designed to relieve pressure on senior leadership by building high-performing teams, improving internal tooling, and standardising work processes across the company without sacrificing execution speed. You will be a visionary partner to our leadership, contributing to organisational structure and the long-term technical vision. In this role, you will lead our Mission Intelligence teams across Lausanne and Paris — covering multi-agent mission planning, semantic and geometric scene understanding, and the data acquisition infrastructure that supports them. Mission Intelligence turns sensor data and operational context into mission understanding, sitting between research and shipped product. Responsibilities - People Management & Mentorship: Act as a dedicated people manager for engineers, overseeing performance reviews, career growth, and training initiatives. - Recruitment: Own the recruitment process as the number one priority, building and maintaining an effective engineering team to meet our ambitious growth plans in a competitive AI and multi-agent talent market. - Process Standardisation: Develop and implement standardised work processes across ML, data, and applied AI engineering teams to ensure high-quality output and consistency. - Engineering Infrastructure: Audit and improve internal tooling—deciding between off-the-shelf and custom solutions—to ensure engineers have the best resources to succeed. - Organisational Strategy: Contribute to the organisational structure by reorganising modules and initiating changes to optimise cross-functional (XFN) delivery. - Vision & Execution: Collaborate with leadership to build the company vision, bringing fresh ideas to the table rather than just executing existing plans. Candidate Requirements - Educational Background: A strong academic record in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, or a related technical field. - Proven Leadership: Previous experience as an Individual Contributor (IC) who has successfully transitioned into a management role, allowing you to deeply understand the technical challenges your team faces. - Experience: Direct experience leading applied ML or autonomy engineering teams that have shipped production AI systems — not papers, not demos. Hands-on background in multi-agent systems, fleet orchestration, scene understanding, or mission planning is required; deep credibility in one or two of these is sufficient. - Technical Engagement: While this is a management-focused role, you should still possess a desire to "keep your hands dirty" and remain engaged with the technical aspects of the work. - Soft Skills & Communication: Exceptional soft skills and communication abilities, with a "high-bar" for excellence and a natural ability to elevate those around them. - Commitment: 100% dedication to Harmattan AI's mission of building autonomous defence systems and a readiness to thrive in a fast-paced, high-pressure environment. We look forward to hearing how you can help shape the future of autonomous defense systems at Harmattan AI.