Manufacturing engineer composite development

Location: The Hague

Are you excited about composites and creating products and solutions? Join KVE to help us develop products such as radomes, rotor blades and aircraft components using various composite manufacturing processes.

About KVE Composites
KVE is an advanced composite development factory, where skilled people build products and create business for the group. We are an autonomous unit within the Daher Group, strategically positioned in The Netherlands. Under one roof, we combine manufacturing with innovative composite product and process development. Our agile teams create composite solutions from concepts up to serial production, in close collaboration with our customers.

We excel in advanced composite part production for defence and aerospace, with a focus on radomes, blades, and special products and are leaders in welding technology for thermoplastic composites. Our SME agility is backed by the stability and support of a large international company.

Our Mission
To be an advanced composite development factory, where skilled people build products and create business for the group.

Our Values
We work according to these principles:

Drive – Strong inner motivation to achieve goals with a proactive attitude.

Pragmatic – Focusing on solutions that are effective and realistic.

Innovative – Bringing original ideas that create or improve value.

Team Spirit – Working together in mutual trust and respect towards a common goal.

Responsible – Being reliable, accountable and committed to doing the right thing for the company, customers and society.

Your Role
We are growing – and we’re looking for a Manufacturing Engineer who will turn composite designs into repeatable, scalable and technician-friendly production processes. You will bridge engineering and production. Your goal: ensure our composite products can be built efficiently, consistently and to the highest quality standards.

What You Will Do

Develop composite parts and production processes

Design composite parts for build to specification development projects

Design and optimise toolings to manufacture composite parts

Define and validate manufacturing process parameters for composite parts under development:
Curing cycles, RTM, compression moulding.

Bring the manufacturing maturity up to FAI and serial production

Validate manufacturability and quality through testing

Define and execute Qualification Test Plans to ensure performance and safety

Prepare sample panels, coupons and prototypes

Coordinate tests – microcuts, DSC, mechanical, NDI – to demonstrate compliance with specifications

Write the Qualification Test Reports

Work closely with technicians on the shop floor

Be part of the prototypes or first article manufacturing in close collaboration with the technicians on the shopfloor

Create clear Work Instructions and Process Standards to be easily usable in production

Help turn process knowledge into visual, step-by-step guidance

Participate to industrialisation and ramp-ups

Define and deploy standard processes and reliable and safe tooling to ensure consistent and scalable production

Be part of the transitioning from paper to digital work instructions

Increase the safety culture in KVE

Throughout your work, you will apply and respect our EN9100 quality system, ensuring every deliverable meets aerospace‑grade standards.

Your Profile

Preferred experience:

Hands‑on experience with composite manufacturing processes:
Prepreg, RTM, Compression moulding

Designing skills with Solidworks and/or Catia

Know how to work with geometric dimensioning and tolerancing in a composite production environment

Additionally, you:

Enjoy being on the shop floor as much as behind a CAD or Excel screen

Have a structured and curious mindset – you solve problems by testing, improving and validating

Communicate easily with both engineers and technicians

Have knowledge of EN9100 as a plus

Have an EU nationality (due to security requirements for defence projects)

Why Join Us?
At KVE, you work in a dynamic engineering team where your ideas directly impact production. You will see your development work turn into real composite products used in the field. You’ll learn, experiment, prototype, qualify and build – not just design and hands off.

If you want to help bridge design and production, love composites, and enjoy hands‑on engineering, we’d love to meet you. For Dutch nationals, we even offer the opportunity to work “in the field” with our products as a military reservist.

Working Conditions

A one‑year contract (32-40 hours) with prospect to permanent employment

25 vacations days + 2 ATV days

Travel allowance

Personal development opportunities

Bike plan

Good pension plan

Interested? Send us your CV and a short note about relevant projects you’ve worked on – formal or hobby. We care about what you’ve built, tested, fixed or improved.

Third‑party applications are not appreciated.

Please note:

We currently do not offer visa sponsorship or relocation for this role.

#J-18808-Ljbffr