Design and Certification Specialist - Airframe & Transmissions

Design & Certification Specialist – Airframe and Transmissions

Salary: £68,000- £72,000 plus a market related supplement

Contract Type: Permanent, Full-time

Location: Gatwick / Hybrid

Required Security Level: SC

Visa Restrictions: This position does not currently offer visa sponsorship. 

We are the UK's aviation and aerospace regulator and recognised as a world leader in its field. Our activities are diverse, enabling the aviation industry to meet the highest safety standards, and we pride ourselves on our ability to adapt to the constantly evolving aviation environment.

The Role:

Your main role will be technical involvement with certification projects and continued airworthiness activities. This will involve liaison with UK industry for certification & oversight activities, engagement on international projects with other aviation authorities, such as the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

You will be responsible for supporting the business plan and the wider CAA, specifically with respect to meeting UK’s obligations in accordance with the Basic Regulation UK Reg (EU) 2018/1139 and ICAO’s standards for State of Design.

Reporting to the Design & Certification Principal Specialist for Airframe and Transmissions, your primary function will be the technical investigation, analysis and approval of certification projects with respect to the structures discipline. You will also support the understanding and resolution of structures related continued airworthiness issues affecting fixed and rotary wing aircraft.

Core Accountabilities but not limited to:

• The assessment of fixed and rotary wing aircraft designs and design changes, with respect to structural aspects, and making recommendations for their approval.

• Validation of non-UK certifying authorities’ design approvals in accordance with international working agreements.

• Investigation of UK Design Organisations, in relation to CAA Part 21 Subpart J design organisation approval.

• To ensure that in-service defects on aerospace products, including Mandatory Occurrence Reports, are investigated and that all necessary actions are taken to maintain safety standards.
• Take direct airworthiness safety intervention measures where necessary in response to in-service difficulties / incidents and accidents to ensure the continued safety of participants and third parties.

• Escalate significant safety matters in accordance with the CAA regulatory safety management system (RSMS).

• Where required, act as Project Certification Manager (PCM) to coordinate projects or ‘specialists’ in specific technical disciplines.

• Industry and regulator engagement will be required to ensure that the CAA remains appraised of future projects, the proposed introduction and development of new and innovative technologies and any associated proposals requiring new regulation development or regulatory change.

• Clarify, where necessary, existing requirements and contribute to the development of new ones to address new technology, novel applications of existing technology, and novel proposals for compliance demonstration.

• Identify and coordinate research or contribute into areas of significant airworthiness concern. Represent the CAA in decision making committees and working groups, internally and externally, nationally and internationally from a design standpoint.

• Liaise with other regulators and accident investigation bodies in relation to accidents and events and their ICAO Annex 13 investigations or equivalent.

About You: 

You will ideally have an engineering degree and experience of aircraft airframe or transmissions design and/or certification. This can be from either fixed wing, rotary wing or E-VTOL aircraft applications. One or more of the following aspects of airframe or transmission design related experience will be required.

• Static strength/stress analysis
• Fatigue and damage tolerance
• Materials and manufacturing
• Crashworthiness, decompression, and impact conditions
• Loads, weight and balance
• Aeroelasticity, vibration and buffeting
• Manufacturing processes and NDT techniques

Suitable candidates should also have a desire to continually develop experience through project involvement and dedicated training with the flexibility to contribute more generally to other areas of the Design and Certification team.

Other Essential Criteria

• Able to evidence working experience within an aircraft stress department working on aircraft and/or major design modifications / STCs
• Stress signatory or CVE level experience
• Practical and pragmatic approach to structural analysis
• Understanding of structural analysis from first principles
• Confidence in guiding, influencing and challenging technical decisions.
• Knowledge of the certification process.
• Ability to communicate confidently in various environments and at varying levels of seniority.
• Demonstrable skill in operating across a broad set of cultural and business environments.
• Able to monitor, guide and manage technical decisions on a range of major safety issues.

Additional Security Information: For many appointments within the CAA, these roles require access to operationally sensitive infrastructure and/or Nationally Protected information. For these roles the post holders must undergo National Security Vetting and achieve the appropriate level of clearance. If you do not meet these requirements, we may not be able to accept your application.  To be vetted we will usually expect a reasonable period of residency in the UK so that meaningful checks can be undertaken. For this role this will need to be 5 years. For more information on SC clearance please visit - Vetting explained - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Relocation of CAA from Aviation House: The CAA will be relocating from Aviation House (Our Gatwick Office) to new premises in a few years’ time. Our move is driven by strategic, operational, and environmental considerations. We will be moving to a new local home, up to a 15-mile radius of Aviation House, to minimise disruption for our valued colleagues and customers. We are now working with colleagues and visitors to understand what we need in our new office before we start our property search. We will sell Aviation House and land, vacate the site, and move to new premises, but we do not expect to move before 2028

Inclusive Recruitment: We are passionate about diversity and ensuring all are included at the CAA. We are an equal opportunity employer and actively encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds. As a member of the Disability Confident scheme, applicants who meet the minimum criteria for a role with us will be guaranteed an interview. We use fair and inclusive selection approaches to hire the best person for the job based on merit alone. If you require an adjustment for any reason, please let us know.

Use of Artificial Intelligence by candidates in the CAA recruitment process: We recognise that many of our candidates find Artificial Intelligence to be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be rejected on that basis.

Working With Us: We are on a journey towards being increasingly adaptable, where our colleagues collaborate as part of cross-functional teams. This approach ensures we never stop learning together. It also means that you may become involved in activities that take you out of your day-to-day role, providing you with opportunities to develop and grow your career with us.

We have embraced hybrid working and offer flexible working patterns, being open to having a conversation about what works for you. We know where and when we work is important in achieving a work-life balance. For this role, a significant proportion of the work can be performed remotely, however, it will be necessary to visit Aviation House at Gatwick, on occasion, for meetings and training. As stated above, the role may require a limited number of visits to design organisations located around the UK. This can be explored further if you are invited to interview.

We offer a range of excellent benefits such as flexible working arrangements, free onsite gym at Gatwick, discounted gym membership for London, 28 days annual leave, additional 5 days leave purchase scheme, a generous pension scheme and much more!

Our Values: Do The Right Thing, Never Stop Learning, Build Collaborative Relationships, Respect Everyone – For more information please Click Here

Closing Date: 21 May 2026

Interview Date: WC 01 and 08 June 2026 In person Gatwick

The CAA values high ethical standards and personal integrity among employees. If invited for interview you will be asked to complete a declaration of interest.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

No recruitment agencies please.