(Senior) Technical Programme Associate

Help Build Europe's Hypersonic Capability
 
At Hypersonica, we’re redefining what’s possible in European defence technology. We exist to deliver speed, resilience, and technological independence at a pace that sets a new standard. We are a small, elite team working on problems that matter, and solving them fast.
 
By joining Hypersonica, you’re not stepping into a predefined role. You’re joining a talent dense environment where every individual shapes the direction of the company. Our philosophy is to hire a small number of exceptional people with broad, deep technical capability, strong judgement, and the ability to operate autonomously.
 
We hire for talent, not rigid boxes. This role represents a business need, but the way it evolves will be shaped by the individual. If you’ve achieved what others said was impossible, or you bring a unique combination of skills that doesn’t fit a traditional mould, we want to hear from you. The work you do here directly contributes to Europe’s technological independence.

What you'll do

- Support the day-to-day delivery of defence programmes with close attention to the technical scope, risk, and maturity of the underlying engineering work.

- Work directly with engineering teams to understand technical progress and translate it into clear programme status, risk, and decision inputs.

- Translate customer requirements, technical and contractual inputs, and complex engineering information into clear plans, milestones, and actionable next steps.

- Support technical reviews and technical discussions and reporting, preparing materials and tracking actions through to closure.

- Manage day-to-day relationships with technical partners and subcontractors, coordinating their deliverables, resolving technical queries, and holding them to schedule and quality.

- Help ensure relevant safety and assurance frameworks (e.g. airworthiness, range safety, product safety) are correctly understood and applied across the programme.

- Support commercial and programme activities, including delivery planning and proposals, working closely with engineering to ensure technical content is accurate and well presented.

- Build growing fluency in the underlying technology sufficient to engage credibly with engineering teams and represent technical status to programme and customer stakeholders.

- Take ownership of defined workstreams and increasingly complex technical and programme responsibilities as you develop in the role.

Who you are

- An ambitious early-career professional with at least 2–3 years of experience in a technical or engineering-adjacent environment - aerospace, defence, engineering consulting, a deep-tech start-up, or another demanding and high-paced setting.

- A background in engineering, physics, materials science, or a similarly technical discipline, giving you genuine fluency with engineering content rather than needing it pre-translated.

- Experienced in breaking down complex or technically ambiguous problems, structuring your thinking, and turning analysis into practical action.

- Comfortable operating between technical detail and programme execution; you do not want a role confined to producing slides, reports, or recommendations.

- A strong communicator who can translate technical content into clear materials for non-technical audiences, and translate programme and commercial constraints back into terms engineering teams can act on.

- Comfortable managing external partners and subcontractors, holding them to schedule and quality without being heavy-handed.

- Comfortable navigating applicable safety, quality, and regulatory frameworks (e.g. airworthiness, range safety, product safety) well enough to ensure they're correctly applied, without needing to be the technical authority on them.

- Organised, dependable, and able to manage several priorities without losing attention to detail.

- Fluent or native-level in German and fluent in English, with the confidence to operate in bilingual, cross-cultural settings.

What we offer

- A mission-driven environment with the opportunity to work on one of Europe’s most consequential defence challenges, with direct impact on sovereign capability and security.

- Daily collaboration with leading experts across engineering, operations, business development, and defence, with genuine opportunities to learn, contribute, and grow.

- Exposure to the full lifecycle of complex defence programmes, from customer requirements and commercial strategy through to engineering delivery and flight testing.

- High ownership and autonomy: no time tracking and no micromanagement, just clear objectives and accountability for outcomes.

- A fast-paced environment where good ideas are implemented quickly and feedback from testing and flight drives real decisions.

- A culture that values clarity, integrity, and excellence, and supports people who take initiative and push boundaries responsibly.

- Competitive compensation and real share options aligned with responsibility and impact, not tenure or hierarchy.

At Hypersonica, every hire raises the bar. We are deliberately small, intensely capable, and deeply mission-driven. If this role feels like a strong fit, or if you believe you bring something exceptional that goes beyond the description, we encourage you to apply.
 
Hypersonica is an equal-opportunity employer and assesses candidates solely on merit, capability, and potential.
 
You can apply directly to this role or reach out to Nathan Sweeney, Head of Talent. We review every application and aim to respond to all candidates within two weeks, whether the answer is yes or no.