The posting, in Hadrian's own words
archived Oct 29, 2026Hadrian - Manufacturing the Future
Hadrian is building autonomous factories to reindustrialize America. By combining AI, advanced software, robotics, and full-stack manufacturing, we help aerospace and defense companies build rockets, satellites, aircraft, ships, and other mission-critical systems up to 10x faster and at significantly lower cost. Following our $1.37B Series D at a $7.87B valuation, Hadrian is rapidly expanding our manufacturing footprint, launching new capabilities across welding, casting, forging, electronics, additive manufacturing, and more, while scaling our Factory-as-a-Service platform to transform how critical products are built. Backed by leading investors including JPMorgan Chase, Valor Equity Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, Founders Fund, 137 Ventures, Lux Capital, T. Rowe Price, and Morgan Stanley, we’re building the future of American manufacturing—and looking for exceptional people to help make it happen. If you’re ready to take on the most challenging and rewarding work of your career while helping create American manufacturing jobs for generations to come, you’re exactly who we’re looking for.
The Role
As Head of Qualification, you will be the technical lead for Hadrian's part qualification work for our defense customers, including Department of War and U.S. Army programs. Our customers come to us with legacy sustainment parts that have incomplete or outdated technical data or no reliable supply source, and they need those parts qualified to be produced again to support the warfighter. You will own that process, from first look at the technical data through development of a qualification package the government accepts, working alongside engineers, Hadrian’s programs team, and software teams to get there. This is a hands-on engineering role: you will work the technical problems yourself, and your credibility will come from having done this kind of engineering before.
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What You'll Do
Lead Hadrian's qualification activities with our military customers: own the pipeline from intake through government acceptance, and set the standard for how new parts, source, and advanced manufacturing techniques get qualified Do the engineering yourself when the part needs it, e.g., DFM reviews, process planning, and lead cross-functional teams to get parts qualified on time Act as the technical interface for qualification issues and operational blockers, and drive them to resolution Serve as Hadrian's technical counterpart to DoW customer program offices, depots, and engineering staff, etc., making and defending engineering determinations on parts, specs, and equivalency, and translating government requirements, TDPs, and quality standards into executable qualification and manufacturing plans Identify, advocate for and develop new internal capabilities based on recurring qualification needs and customer feedback Design and implement scalable qualification processes, including feedback loops with software teams, to support operational excellence and continuous improvement
What We're Looking For
Engineering degree (Mechanical, Manufacturing, Aerospace, or similar) and significant hands-on design or manufacturing engineering experience, including recent work you did yourself A track record of engineering decisions that held up when challenged by another engineering organization, such as a customer, prime, or government authority Experience with technical data packages, drawings and GD&T, military specifications, and defense quality requirements (e.g., AS9100, FAI, source inspection) Someone capable of thriving in a fast-paced startup environment, but who understands and can push through the DOW’s typical pace of work Customer-facing or program management experience is a plus, but not a substitute for technical depth Prior military service or civilian DoW experience is a plus
Benefits for Full-time Employees
Medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans for employees 401k Relocation support may be provided for certain situations, based on business need. Flexible vacation policy Equity
ITAR Requirements
To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen or national, lawful permanent resident, protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.