Design and Certification Specialist

Salary: Up to £72,000 plus a Market Related Supplement - dependent upon experience

Contract Type: Full Time Permanent

Security Level: SC

Location: Gatwick / Hybrid

Visa Restrictions: This position does not (currently) offer visa sponsorship

Closing Date: 19th July 26

Interview Date: 5th Aug 26

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

As a Design and Certification specialist, you will be responsible for supporting the overall business plan and supporting the wider CAA, specifically in establishing and delivering the UK’s ICAO State of Design responsibilities.

Reporting to the Manager of the Office of the Chief Engineer, you will be responsible for the standardisation and governance of activity conducted by the Design and Certification department, including certification, validation, and  continued airworthiness of aircraft, systems, engines and propellers, across all civil aerospace domains including commercial air transport, general aviation, unmanned air vehicles, and innovation projects. In addition, you will be responsible for assuring the training and competency of the wider team, and coordinating the policy, rulemaking, and bilateral activities within Design and Certification.

Industry and regulatory engagement will be required to ensure that the CAA keeps appraised of future projects, the proposed introduction and development of new and innovative technologies and any proposed regulatory changes.

You will also be expected to work to the CAA’s internal policies and procedures in their day-to-day role. Oversight of organisations will be conducted in accordance with the CAA’s Performance Based Oversight business rules, applying proportionality based on the organisation’s complexity, risk and performance.

About You

Essential Criteria

Proven knowledge of certification in one or more of the identified disciplines, as outlined below, with sufficient experience to have achieved level of Certification Signatory or Compliance Verification Engineer (CVE) within Industry, or expert and detailed knowledge of the functioning of aviation regulation gained through relevant experience within an Airworthiness Authority.

•  Propulsion / Propulsive Systems – including electric/hybrid drive systems
• Software
• Flight Test / Aerodynamics
• Performance
• Structure and Materials
• Hydro – Mechanical systems – including flight controls
• Electrical systems
• Avionic systems
• Power plant installations / fuel systems
• Cabin Safety / Environment Control Systems / Icing
• Noise / Emissions
• General Airworthiness / Project Certification Management
• Continued Airworthiness
• Human Factors
• Design assurance and safety assessment
• Independent System Monitoring
• Aviation policy and/or rulemaking development or implementation

• Ability to monitor and manage technical decisions on a range of major safety issues.
• Operate in various business areas within the D&C team.
• Using experience to make sound judgments.
• Resilience to work at pace and on various matters with the appropriate level of input.
• Able to understand specialist issues and modulate technical views to account for wider business and political considerations.
• Confidence to challenge information, propositions, or assumptions, at a deep technical nature and across a range of disciplines.
• Confidence to escalate issues as they arise.
• Confident to communicate at all levels, to conduct technical conversation and engage with all internal and external stakeholders.
• Attention to detail and through report writing and delivery of information to support outputs.
• Ensure aerospace products for which the CAA has responsibility meet applicable initial and continued airworthiness standards; ensure in-service issues are adequately addressed to maintain the intended level of safety.
• Escalate significant safety matters in accordance with the CAA regulatory safety management system (RSMS).
• Identify and coordinate research or contribute to areas of significant airworthiness concern. Represent the CAA and / or Airworthiness 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

Desirable Criteria:

• The desire to continually develop experience through project involvement and dedicated training.

You would need to be able to hold a valid passport that allows international travel without restrictions. Also, the role will require the ability to support time away from home to support allocated projects and/or international collaboration.

Additional 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.

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.

If you do not meet these requirements, we may not be able to accept your application.

For more information on CTC and SC clearance please visit - Vetting explained - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

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.

Relocation & Property

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 committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce and welcome applications from all backgrounds. As a Disability Confident employer, candidates who meet the minimum requirements will be guaranteed an interview. Find out more about the Disability Confident Scheme. If you require any adjustments during the recruitment process, 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

Explore What We Offer section on our careers website to find out about our benefits and how we support work-life balance.

Our Values

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

Closing Date: 19 July 2026

Interview Date: 5th August 2026

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.