Head of Health and Safety

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

Build and lead Hypersonica’s UK health, safety, and environmental function across multiple R&D, manufacturing, assembly, test, and production sites.

Define and implement the company-wide HSE management system from zero, establishing clear standards, ownership, governance, and operating procedures without importing unnecessary bureaucracy.

Translate UK health and safety legislation into practical controls that engineers, technicians, contractors, and operators can follow in real working environments.

Embed HSE requirements into facility design, equipment selection, commissioning, manufacturing processes, and operational planning before risks become expensive or irreversible.

Lead workplace and process risk assessments across machinery, lifting operations, pressure systems, electrical work, hazardous substances, working at height, manual handling, laboratories, workshops, and production activity.

Establish safe systems of work, permit-to-work controls, contractor management, emergency arrangements, incident reporting, and corrective-action processes across all UK locations.

Build a consistent approach to machinery and equipment safety, including guarding, isolation, lockout/tagout, commissioning evidence, statutory inspection, and maintenance controls.

Own incident and near-miss investigations, identifying root causes and driving corrective actions that permanently improve how the business operates.

Define HSE requirements for new sites and facility changes, supporting design reviews, readiness gates, operational handover, and safe mobilisation.

Set the minimum credible HSE controls for prototype and R&D work, balancing experimentation speed with disciplined risk management.

Build and maintain clear HSE metrics covering incidents, near misses, corrective actions, audits, training, contractor performance, and leading risk indicators.

Develop training and competency programmes that are concise, relevant, and respected by technical teams rather than treated as compliance theatre.

Lead engagement with regulators, insurers, auditors, landlords, contractors, and external specialists where required.

Partner closely with engineering, manufacturing, facilities, quality, security, and operations leadership to surface constraints early and keep programmes moving.

Work alongside the specialist responsible for energetic materials, ensuring explosives-related controls integrate cleanly into the wider UK HSE system without duplicating accountability.

Build the future HSE team, defining which capabilities must sit internally and where specialist external support is justified.

Who you are

A senior HSE leader with significant experience building and running health and safety systems across complex manufacturing, engineering, R&D, test, or production environments.

Proven at establishing an HSE function or management system from the ground up, not only maintaining mature corporate processes.

Experienced operating across multiple sites with different risk profiles, priorities, and stages of maturity.

Deeply practical and comfortable spending time in workshops, laboratories, production areas, and commissioning environments rather than managing safety from a desk.

Strong working knowledge of UK health and safety requirements relevant to industrial and engineering operations, including risk assessment, machinery safety, hazardous substances, contractor control, statutory inspections, and incident management.

Credible with engineers and operational leaders, able to challenge unsafe decisions directly while finding a practical path forward.

Experienced supporting new-facility design, equipment commissioning, production readiness, or operational mobilisation.

Strong at incident investigation and root-cause analysis, with a record of converting findings into durable improvements rather than administrative closure.

Able to establish minimum credible controls for fast-moving R&D and prototype work without lowering the standard for serious risks.

Calm and decisive under pressure, with the judgement to distinguish manageable engineering risk from activity that must stop immediately.

Comfortable operating autonomously as the company’s senior UK HSE authority while building influence across teams that do not report to you.

Clear and concise in your communication, documentation, and training. You create systems people can actually understand and use.

Experience in aerospace, defence, advanced manufacturing, automotive, motorsport, energy, chemicals, or another high-consequence engineering environment is highly relevant.

Exposure to energetic materials, explosives operations, or major-hazard environments is valuable but not required; dedicated specialist capability will sit alongside this role.

Motivated by building a safety culture where standards are high, problems surface early, and safe execution increases programme velocity rather than reducing it.
Experience working with hazardous materials, explosives, energetic materials, or other major-hazard environments would be an advantage, but is not essential.

Security and Eligibility Requirement

Due to the nature of the work with the UK MoD, applicants must be a British Citizen, or a dual national holding British citizenship, and eligible for UK Security Clearance and, where required, Developed Vetting.

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 top experts across engineering, operations, and defence, with real opportunity to learn from the best, contribute, and grow.

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

A fast-paced environment where good ideas are implemented quickly, and feedback from test and operations 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 to 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.