Senior Design Engineer - Airframe

Our Mission

At Vertical Aerospace, we are pioneering the way for electric aviation. The Valo, 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. Valo is targeting airliner-level safety certification in 2029 ahead of entering service with our airline and operator customers.

What to Expect

We are looking for a Senior Design Engineer who can take ownership of airframe designs and close the gap between design intent and physical hardware.

Working within our central Airframe team, you will take inherited and developing designs through design for manufacture, release, build, installation and flight test. You will work across airframe structures, powerplant and fuel-system interfaces across our all-electric and hybrid aircrafts, making pragmatic decisions where requirements, evidence and hardware do not always align neatly.

This is a hands-on technical leadership role. You will coordinate a team of Design Engineers to set priorities and maintain both partner alignment and delivery momentum without relying on direct line authority.

What You’ll Do

• Own airframe designs from incomplete or inherited definition through design for manufacture, release, build and installation

• Develop pragmatic design solutions that balance structural, manufacturing, integration, certification and programme requirements

• Approve and release engineering drawings, design data and technical reports

• Act as a checking signatory, ensuring released data is accurate, complete and supported by appropriate evidence

• Coordinate internal engineers and contractors

• Integrate airframe structures with powerplant, fuel-system and other physical aircraft systems

• Work directly with manufacturing, assembly and flight-test teams to resolve issues quickly and safely

• Build and collate the verification and certification evidence needed to support safety-of-flight readiness

• Challenge weak assumptions or insufficient evidence, manage technical interfaces and escalate safety risks clearly

• Mentor junior engineers and support their technical development

What You’ll Bring

• Established experience delivering complex mechanical or structural designs in a safety-critical or highly regulated environment

• Strong theoretical understanding of airframe structures, combined with the judgement to apply engineering principles pragmatically

• Evidence of taking an inherited or incomplete design through design for manufacture, release, build or installation

• Experience approving or checking engineering drawings, design data or technical reports

• Broad structural design experience with exposure to physical systems installation and multidisciplinary interfaces

• An understanding of the full product development lifecycle, including verification and certification

• Experience delegating technical work, setting priorities and coordinating delivery across engineers or contractors

• The confidence to make sound decisions under scrutiny and challenge work that is not supported by sufficient evidence

• Strong communication and organisation skills, with the ability to maintain focus in a fast-moving delivery environment

Experience within aerospace would be valuable, particularly across eVTOL, prototype aircraft, MRO, aircraft modification or special-mission programmes. We will also consider relevant experience from other safety-critical sectors where you can demonstrate strong design, integration and release capability.

Experience with CATIA V5 or 3DEXPERIENCE would be an advantage.

What can you expect from us?

We're on a mission. Where others see limits, we see opportunity, and we work at pace. Working 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 going to assure the next chapter of aviation history is by working as a team, relentlessly, towards our goal. 

Our benefits

Our people matter - we're not going anywhere without them. Which is why our company benefits go beyond the essentials.

• 26 days holiday, plus bank holiday

• 5 extra days per year to buy (or sell)

• 5 extra days holiday when you get married or enter a civil partnership

• Additional 4% of your salary to spend on extra benefits

• Award-winning digital health and wellbeing service (Help@Hand)

• Company performance based bonus - rewarding company and individual performance

• Company Share Scheme - open to every Vertical employee

• Company Pension Scheme - 5% and we match it

• Breakfast on us, every day

We may just be the hardest job you've ever had, but we're confident it will be the most rewarding. Join the team today and help us shape the future of Advanced Air Mobility.

Disclaimer Statement

We encourage you to apply even if you may not have all the experience listed in the advert. We recognise that talent comes in various forms and we are committed to providing opportunities that create an environment of growth, diversity, and inclusion for everyone. As part of our desire to review and make our processes fair, we may ask you questions related to these aspects during the application process. For more information on how we will use your data, see our Legal section.