Safety Engineer

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Date: 5 Oct 2026

Location: Gatwick, GB

Salary: £62,000 up to £71,957 dependent upon experience

Contract Type: Permanent, Full-time

Security Level: SC

Location: Aviation House – Gatwick – min 2 days in the office per week or 8 days across a month.

Visa Restrictions: This position does not offer visa sponsorship

Closing Date: 19th October 2026

Interview Date: w/c 2nd November 2026

We are the UK's aviation and aerospace regulator and recognised as a world leader in its field,enabling a safe and sustainable commercial space sector in the UK.

This role is for a Safety Engineer within the Engineering, Safety, and Environment team. The team provides engineering, safety, and environmental expertise to support the UK’s space regulatory functions, working closely with regulatory and policy specialists.

You will join a team of technical and safety experts supporting both launch and orbital activities. This role’s focus is on the review and evaluation of operator safety demonstrations to understand the risks of proposed space activities and to determine that operators are managing risks effectively.

• Assess licence applications, including safety cases and supporting evidence for launch, spaceport, range, and orbital activities.
• Support monitoring licensees throughout the lifecycle of their activities, including carrying out on-site inspections, reviewing and analysing documents and other evidence.
• Prepare technical assessment safety recommendations and advice to identify potential licence conditions.
• Assist in the development of assessment frameworks for safety, to ensure consistency in the review of the technical evidence provided by applicants and licensees.
• Help coordinate safety assessment reviews to support licence application processes or ongoing licensee monitoring activities.
• Support the development of safety guidance material for the space industry, including engagement with the sector on safety matters.
• Undertake research and development activities on topics related to space activity hazard and risk management.
• Work closely with policy and regulatory specialists translating complex engineering and safety concepts into clear and actionable advice.
• Develop and maintain knowledge of international space regulations, standards, and industry good practice.
• Participate in, and contribute to, technical meetings with academic collaborators, cross-government, international, industry, and regulatory stakeholders, both internally and externally.

• Degree-level knowledge in an engineering, scientific or mathematical discipline, or equivalent science-based/engineering experience.
• Experience in a safety-related discipline within a high-hazard engineering sector, such as aerospace, nuclear, oil and gas, chemicals, defence, maritime, or offshore industries.
• Strong technical background with experience in the design, development, review, manufacture, or testing of complex and/or safety-critical systems, subsystems, or components.
• Proven experience in developing, managing, and trading off complex engineering requirements, with expertise in design verification and validation.
• Experience across multiple phases of complex project life cycles, with a clear understanding of project milestones and deliverables.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to explain complex engineering or scientific concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences across industry, academia, government, and international partners.
• Proven ability to work collaboratively, independently, and effectively as part of a team.

The team is made of individuals with complementary skills and there is no expectation to have expertise across all…