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Hypersonica is building sovereign European hypersonic capability and seeks a Head of Supply Chain to establish and lead supply-chain operations across Germany. This is a greenfield role—you will build the supply-chain function from first principles, developing suppliers, commercial relationships, processes, and team to support complex aerospace and defence development, manufacturing, and flight programmes.
Key Responsibilities:
- Build and own Hypersonica's German supply-chain capability, establishing a secure and resilient supplier network capable of supporting complex aerospace and defence hardware from prototype through qualification and production.
- Lead sourcing and contracting for long-lead, technically complex, and flight-critical hardware across advanced materials, precision manufacturing, electronics, avionics, specialist processes, tooling, test equipment, and engineering services.
- Work directly with Engineering from early development stages, translating technical requirements into credible sourcing and procurement strategies.
- Personally lead strategically important RFQs, sourcing exercises, negotiations, and commercial agreements.
- Build strong relationships across the German and wider European industrial base, positioning Hypersonica as a valued customer.
- Assess supplier capability across technical performance, manufacturing maturity, quality, capacity, commercial strength, security, and delivery.
- Collaborate with Manufacturing and Quality to take suppliers from prototype delivery through qualification, industrialisation, and repeatable production.
- Establish supplier onboarding, performance management, and risk-management systems.
- Identify and actively manage risks around single-source components, capacity, long-lead materials, geopolitical dependency, and supplier financial resilience.
- Ensure purchasing and supplier activity operates within German and European export-control, defence-security, and regulatory requirements.
- Negotiate agreements protecting schedule, quality, intellectual property, commercial position, and long-term supply.
- Support make-versus-buy decisions and development of Hypersonica's broader German industrial strategy.
- Work closely with Logistics to ensure critical hardware moves reliably between suppliers, Hypersonica locations, and test sites.
- Build systems, processes, and documentation to scale without allowing procurement to become bureaucratic.
- Recruit, develop, and lead an exceptional German Supply Chain team as the business grows.
- Collaborate with the UK counterpart and Group leadership to operate regional supply chains as one European capability where appropriate.
- Travel regularly to suppliers and other Hypersonica locations to solve problems in person.
- Support future operations and locations as manufacturing and test footprint develops.
Requirements:
- Exceptional aerospace, defence, space, or advanced-manufacturing supply-chain leader with proven ownership of complex technical hardware procurement.
- Experienced sourcing products where technical maturity, manufacturing capability, quality, and schedule matter as much as price.
- Deep understanding of how Engineering decisions translate into supply-chain problems, with ability to engage early to prevent them.
- Strong commercial acumen with excellent instincts around negotiation, supplier economics, and contractual risk.
- Technical literacy sufficient to engage with engineers, understand objectives, and challenge requirements intelligently.
- Proven experience taking suppliers from initial identification through assessment, contracting, industrialisation, and ongoing delivery.
- Comfortable operating around immature designs, low initial volumes, and rapidly changing requirements.
- Ability to identify supply-chain risks that can stop a programme and act before they become problems.
- Demonstrated experience building or materially transforming a supply-chain organisation rather than simply operating an inherited one.
- Familiarity with aerospace quality frameworks and supplier qualification.
- Comfortable operating within German and European defence, security, and export-control environments.
- Strong knowledge of the German and wider European aerospace, defence, and advanced-manufacturing supplier base (highly valuable).
- Ability to build strong teams while remaining willing to personally find suppliers, negotiate deals, and chase parts when needed.
- Calm under pressure when critical hardware is late; able to move quickly from problem identification to viable options.
- Motivated by the opportunity to build sovereign capability and a resilient European supply base around technologies of strategic importance.
