Head of UAV Manufacturing & Engineering

About the role

Drone Solutions is launching its Drone Manufacturing Plant (DMP) in Harare and needs a hands‑on leader to build and run the engineering and production functions. As Head of UAV Manufacturing & Engineering you will be on the workshop floor, guiding the creation of mission‑specific drone platforms for commercial, industrial and public‑sector customers across Africa.

Key responsibilities

• Establish and manage day‑to‑day technical operations of the plant.
• Design and implement assembly, integration, testing and quality‑control processes.
• Lead development and continuous improvement of multirotor, fixed‑wing and VTOL UAVs.
• Translate customer requirements into customised UAV configurations for mapping, mining, agriculture, surveillance, inspection and emergency response.
• Oversee integration of airframes, propulsion, flight controllers, avionics, power, communications, GNSS/RTK, sensors and payloads.
• Maintain bills of materials, engineering drawings, SOPs and configuration‑control systems.
• Conduct prototyping, calibration, ground and flight testing, troubleshooting and root‑cause analysis.
• Ensure compliance with aviation safety, quality and operational standards.
• Recruit, train and mentor engineers, technicians and assembly staff.

Required profile

• Extensive hands‑on experience in UAV design, assembly and systems integration.
• Proven track record of leading manufacturing or engineering teams in a high‑tech environment.
• Strong problem‑solving skills and ability to work directly on the workshop floor.
• Excellent understanding of safety, quality and regulatory requirements for unmanned aerial systems.

Required skills

• UAV design and assembly
• Multirotor, fixed‑wing and VTOL platforms
• Systems integration (airframe, propulsion, flight controller, avionics)
• GNSS/RTK and sensor payload integration
• Flight testing and ground testing
• Root‑cause analysis and troubleshooting
• Configuration control and bill‑of‑materials management
• Prototyping, calibration and tooling