Certification Engineer - Panel

Our Mission

At Vertical Aerospace, we are pioneering the way for electric aviation. The VX4, our eVTOL (electric, vertical, take-off and landing), ‘zero emissions’ aircraft will set a new safety standard for how we will navigate the sky.

We won’t realise our mission following the same legacy processes and traditions our predecessors followed, instead, we want to ‘redefine’ aerospace best practices.

We are growing quickly from a prototype business to a scaling SME, and the next few years will be critical to our success and delivering on our ambitious goals of having the VX4 in service by 2030.

We are looking for an expert on Development Assurance, Software and Airborne Electronic Hardware with extensive certification experience to bring their in-depth knowledge and experience to the team and act as a DOA CVE. The ideal candidate will have strong leadership and communication skills, has significant experience with certification requirements, and working with Airworthiness Authorities through challenging and innovative design solutions.

Reporting to the Head of Certification, you will be working with the design teams, Airworthiness Authorities, and Industrial Partners to ensure that Certification Requirements are clearly cascaded, and compliance demonstrated.

• Perform compliance verification for electrical systems and equipment design activities in accordance with EASA Part 21 Subpart J.
• Review and approve compliance demonstration documents such as test plans, analysis reports, and qualification documents.
• Ensure compliance with relevant Certification Specifications (CS), Environmental Protection Requirements, and Special Conditions.
• Liaise with EASA and other regulatory authorities during the certification process.
• Support the development of compliance strategies for major and minor changes to type design.
• Participate in internal and external design reviews, ensuring certification requirements are considered from project start.
• Maintain thorough knowledge of applicable regulations (CS, AMC, GM) and industry standards (e.g, DO, ARP, AMC)
• Conduct and support audits and ensure alignment with the approved Design Organisation Handbook (DOH).
• Train and mentor junior engineers on certification topics relevant to Development Assurance, Software & Airborne Electronic Hardware.
• Developing and checking certification-related documents, including:
  Certification Plans, compliance plans and summaries (compliance checklist), Certification Review Items, and evidence supporting Equivalent Levels of Safety & Test Plans (including coordination with Authorities)
• Conducting and supporting SOI audits.
• Assisting the Foreign Authority Validations team.
• Interfacing and leading the structures discussions with the UK CAA and other global Validation authorities as necessary.

• Bachelor's or master's degree in electrical/Electronic engineering, computer science or Aerospace Engineering.
• Minimum 10 years’ experience in aerospace software and electronic hardware development and verification.
• Familiarity with tools like SCADE, MATLAB/Simulink, or similar.
• Experience with embedded systems and real-time operating systems.
• In-depth knowledge of processes and certification specifications relevant to software and electronic hardware. (SC-VTOL, SC-E-19, CS 23, CS 25, CS-26, CS 27, CS-E, CS-P or equivalent)
• Must be nominated and approved as a CVE for Panel 10 or design-approve rights by an EASA/CAA-approved Design Organisation (or eligible for nomination).
• Familiarity with system safety assessments, including FHA, PSSA, SSAs.
• Familiarity with aerospace standards (RTCA DO-160, DO-178, DO-254) and ARP specifications.
• Ability to produce PSACs and PHACs

We're on a mission. Where others see limits, we see opportunity, and we work king at Vertical isn't your average role but for those seeking a challenge, a flexible, supportive organisation and an incredible team; working here is an opportunity to do the best work of your career.

Our approach promotes ingenuity and courage, while our environment builds success through diligence in safety and being open in the way we work. The only way we're…