---
title: 'Director of Engineering - US Region at Harmattan AI'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/director-of-engineering-us-region-harmattan-ai-austin-6jm4ah0jcq57'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-11-09'
---

# Director of Engineering - US Region at Harmattan AI

- **Company:** [Harmattan AI](https://feeny.ai/companies/harmattan-ai)
- **Location:** Austin, TX
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-10-02
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-11-09
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/harmattan-ai/3bde7100-725a-4763-b261-c104871b979b

## Job description

## 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 at Harmattan AI, you will build and lead an engineering organisation with various engineering modules from the ground up. You will own the full technical chain, take the system through qualification and into series production, and build a supplier base and engineering ecosystem that sustains it.

## Responsibilities

- Organisation Building: Stand up the engineering group including hiring key engineering roles.
- Project Management: Act as a project manager handling the delivery of key milestones.
- Technical Ownership: Own the full technical chain across airframe, propulsion, avionics, launcher and ground segment, through to flight test and trials.
- People Management & Mentorship: Manage managers while staying close to the engineering, run regular design reviews across multiple disciplines.
- Supplier Ecosystem: Develop a supplier base.

Candidate Requirements

- Educational Background: An MSc in Mechanical, Aerospace, Electrical or a strongly related engineering field. A track record of building organisations will outweigh the degree.
- Proven Leadership: An engineer who moved into management and then into managing managers.
- Experience: 10+ years, with at least 4 in engineering management. You have stood up or materially scaled an engineering site, including hiring at pace.
- Track Record: You have taken a hardware system through qualification and into series production. Background in UAV, autonomous systems or advanced robotics.
- Technical Engagement: While this is a leadership role, you remain credible across every discipline in the group without claiming depth in any, and you take written positions on the cross-module questions no one else will close.
- Commitment: 100% dedication to Harmattan AI's mission of building autonomous defence systems

We look forward to hearing how you can help shape the future of autonomous defense systems at Harmattan AI.

## About Harmattan AI

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Harmattan AI builds autonomous defense systems—including strike and surveillance drones—using AI-driven autonomy and real-time intelligence for allied forces.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series B, unicorn status)
- **Headquarters**: Paris, France
- **Founded**: 2024
- **Founders**: Mouad M’Ghari (CEO & Co‑founder)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Defense & autonomous systems
- **Target customers**: B2G – NATO member states, ministries of defence (UK, France, and others)
- **Mission**: Deliver scalable, sovereign AI capabilities to allied forces by building mission‑ready autonomous systems that respond in real time, adapt under pressure, and deliver an edge in contested environments. [harmattan.ai](https://harmattan.ai/)

## Products & Services
- **Platform Autonomy**: AI‑driven autonomy layer for drones, enabling real‑time decision‑making and adaptation.
- **Mission Orchestration**: Software for coordinating multiple autonomous assets (e.g., collaborative air combat).
- **Precision Strike**: Attritable strike drones with embedded AI for target engagement.
- **VSHORAD (Very Short‑Range Air Defence)**: Counter‑drone interception systems.
- **Persistent ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance)**: Autonomous surveillance platforms for continuous battlefield awareness.
- **Electronic Warfare Platforms**: Systems for electronic attack and protection. [harmattan.ai](https://harmattan.ai/)

## Market Standing
- **Valuation**: $1.4 billion (as of January 2026, after Series B). [tech.eu](https://tech.eu/2026/01/12/french-startup-harmattan-ai-hits-unicorn-status-as-it-strikes-deal-with-french-aerospace-group/)
- **Key Metric**: Total funding ~$240 million ($200 M Series B led by Dassault Aviation + over $40 M prior). [tech.eu](https://tech.eu/2026/01/12/french-startup-harmattan-ai-hits-unicorn-status-as-it-strikes-deal-with-french-aerospace-group/)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Dassault Aviation (lead investor & strategic partner), multiple NATO allies as customers.
- **Growth Signals**:
  - Achieved unicorn status within two years of founding.
  - Awarded several “programs of record” by UK and French Ministries of Defence. [tech.eu](https://tech.eu/2026/01/12/french-startup-harmattan-ai-hits-unicorn-status-as-it-strikes-deal-with-french-aerospace-group/)
  - Scaling industrial manufacturing of drone interception and electronic warfare platforms.
  - Headcount grew to 131 employees (Built In estimate). [builtin.com](https://builtin.com/company/harmattan-ai)

## Competitive Advantages
- **Two‑layer autonomy model**: Combines platform‑level AI with mission‑orchestration software for coordinated, scalable autonomous forces.
- **Sovereign AI**: Focus on delivering non‑dependent capabilities to allied nations, differentiating from US‑centric primes.
- **Attritable systems**: Cost‑effective, expendable drones that enable mass deployment without prohibitive losses.
- **Speed to relevance**: Claims rapid iteration and deployment cycles, with conflict‑ready production. [harmattan.ai](https://harmattan.ai/)

## Strategic Focus
- Expand product offering into new operational domains (e.g., collaborative air combat with Dassault Aviation).
- Scale industrial manufacturing of drone interception, electronic warfare, and ISR platforms.
- Deepen integration of embedded AI into next‑generation air combat systems (future combat air systems). [tech.eu](https://tech.eu/2026/01/12/french-startup-harmattan-ai-hits-unicorn-status-as-it-strikes-deal-with-french-aerospace-group/)

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: “Elite builders” who “thrive on complexity, move with urgency, and own their work end to end.” Emphasis on purpose, technical excellence, and real‑world impact. [harmattan.ai](https://harmattan.ai/careers/)
- **Values**: Tackle the hardest problems, build what matters, move at the speed of relevance, and aim to redefine frontiers. [harmattan.ai](https://harmattan.ai/careers/)
- **Work policy**: Hybrid model with a mix of remote and on‑site; many roles are in‑office at locations in Paris, Lausanne, London, Arlington (TX), Wissous, Poland, UAE, and Morocco. [builtin.com](https://builtin.com/company/harmattan-ai)
- **Engineering culture**: Hands‑on development of mission‑critical autonomous systems; strong R&D focus across AI, computer vision, RF hardware, propulsion, and mission planning.
- **Perks**: Not explicitly listed, but the company highlights the opportunity to protect front‑line personnel and shape the future of autonomous defence.

## Sources
1. [harmattan.ai](https://harmattan.ai/)
2. [harmattan.ai/careers](https://harmattan.ai/careers/)
3. [harmattan.ai/open-roles](https://harmattan.ai/open-roles)
4. [builtin.com](https://builtin.com/company/harmattan-ai)
5. [tech.eu](https://tech.eu/2026/01/12/french-startup-harmattan-ai-hits-unicorn-status-as-it-strikes-deal-with-french-aerospace-group/)

## Other roles at Harmattan AI

- [Field Service Lead](https://feeny.ai/job/field-service-lead-harmattan-ai-rabat-snasntwv4fa2) — Rabat, Morocco
- [Data Acquistion Module Lead](https://feeny.ai/job/data-acquistion-module-lead-harmattan-ai-paris-nd5w432k54cz) — Paris, France
- [FP&A Lead](https://feeny.ai/job/fp-a-lead-harmattan-ai-paris-v7yabp6mvh8r) — Paris, France
- [Facilities Coordinator](https://feeny.ai/job/facilities-coordinator-harmattan-ai-paris-fb3t9gebj0dw) — Paris, France
- [Program Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/program-manager-harmattan-ai-rabat-f1bwm8xf657x) — Rabat, Morocco
- [Technicien de Maintenance Multi-technique](https://feeny.ai/job/technicien-de-maintenance-multi-technique-harmattan-ai-orly-jpre9kc3p590) — Orly, France
- [System Identification Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/system-identification-engineer-harmattan-ai-paris-a52y0646nxtw) — Paris, France
- [System Identification Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/system-identification-engineer-harmattan-ai-lausanne-611s0xxg1tqd) — Lausanne, Switzerland
- [Director of Engineering, UAS Development](https://feeny.ai/job/director-of-engineering-uas-development-harmattan-ai-rabat-4m2fvdpc712j) — Rabat, Morocco
- [Global Sourcing Manager Sensors & Optics](https://feeny.ai/job/global-sourcing-manager-sensors-optics-harmattan-ai-paris-m94v0vadep8m) — Paris, France