Raffaele Sansone

Raffaele Sansone is Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Sòphia High Tech, where he has led the company's industrial and manufacturing operations since its establishment in 2013. With over a decade of hands-on leadership in aerospace and defense manufacturing, he is responsible for defining and executing the operational strategies that underpin Sòphia's growth, from shop-floor excellence to large-scale program delivery.

Sansone holds a Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering — awarded with honors (110/110 cum laude) — and a Ph.D. in Technologies and Manufacturing Systems, both from the University of Naples Federico II. His doctoral research focused on the numerical modeling of drilling processes on CFRP composite stacks, combining finite element simulation with experimental validation — a foundation that directly informs Sòphia's approach to precision manufacturing.

Before co-founding Sòphia, he served as an R&D Engineer at CETENA S.p.a. (Fincantieri Group), where he specialized in structural analysis of composite and bonded-joint systems for naval and military applications.

At Sòphia, Sansone oversees the full operational lifecycle — from CNC machining investments and supply chain management to process optimization and regulatory compliance. Under his leadership, the company has executed a series of high-value programs for prime customers including Avio S.p.a. and D-Orbit S.p.a., spanning rocket propulsion components, ion thruster structures, and additive manufacturing in advanced metal alloys.

He is the named inventor on three patents, including a plant-based composite panel (WO 2020/127048) and an aerodynamic antenna cover design for VHF aircraft applications, and is the author of seven peer-reviewed scientific publications in the fields of composite materials, cold spray technology, and additive manufacturing.