Design and Certification Specialist

Date: 29 May 2026

Location: Gatwick, GB

Company: Civil Aviation Authority

Salary: £68,000\-£72,000, (plus a market related supplement)
Contract Type: Permanent, Full Time
Location: Gatwick/Hybrid
Security Vetting; 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

The CAA is looking for a design and certification specialist to assist with Continued Airworthiness activities as well as other specialist activities that drive the diverse certification and design activities associated with commercial air transport.

Reporting to the Principal Specialist in the Continued Airworthiness team, you will be responsible for the ongoing surveillance and monitoring of the continued airworthiness of aircraft, systems, engines and propellers across commercial air transport aircraft using incident data from the UK and worldwide Airspace operations and highlighting any situation that could be deemed to constitute an unsafe condition.

This varied role will also involve liaison with the UK industry for certification/oversight activities and other aviation authorities (EASA, FAA, ANAC etc), the review of Occurrence reports and worldwide media posts and publications which could highlight an unsafe condition. Investigate that issue and ultimately work with the design approval holder and mandate the rectification / modification to bring the design back in line with its certification requirements.

A summary of Core Accountabilities

• To audit the compliance and performance of approved Design Organisations and to assess their compliance with the relevant regulation and to do so in line with performance\-based regulation (PBR) principles.


• Capture and readily share safety\-relevant intelligence, information and analysis from multiple internal and external sources with relevant CAA capability areas.


• Delivering outcome focused oversight which considers the statutory compliance obligations, risk and performance with a safety outcome focus. Escalate risks to the appropriate level within SARG.


• Promote a safety and learning culture that is risk based but also satisfies our basic statutory and international needs including compliance


• Evaluate certification projects, as directed by the Principal Design and Certification Specialist, in relation to aerospace products, including but not limited to commercial aircraft, their propulsive systems, equipment, systems and their design changes (modifications). These may include submissions from both UK Design Organisations and those provided for validation under bilateral arrangements. Finding compliance with airworthiness requirements and making recommendations for approval of type, product or change.


• Determining compliance with airworthiness requirements and making recommendations for approval of product or change.


• To ensure that aerospace products for which the CAA has responsibility meet applicable initial and continued airworthiness standards; to ensure in\-service issues are adequately addressed to maintain the intended level of safety; to play a leading role in the development of associated airworthiness requirements.


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


• Enact type design liaison responsibilities on aerospace products and make recommendations as appropriate to colleagues inside and outside CAA (including other Regulatory Agencies) to ensure continued airworthiness and safety standards are met.


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


• Ensure aerospace products in\-service defects including Mandatory Occurrence Reports are investigated and all necessary action 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).


• Identify and coordinate research or contribute into 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. Evaluate and support safety recommendations made to the UK CAA from accident investigations.


• To support other areas, including CAAi, as required to carry out oversight of design organisations (civil and military) and assessment of certification output (civil) under current and future contract arrangements.


• Take proportionate and timely action on organisations and individuals where their safety standards and performance are deemed unacceptable.


• In relation to organisation of oversight activities, consider all enforcement options available and highlight issues or concerns that might lead to any level of enforcement activity, either on a regulatory or criminal basis through line management, as appropriate.


• Through line management as appropriate, responsible for deciding on whether to commission an investigation when a breach of aviation law is suspected or resulting from a recommendation from Investigation and Enforcement team (IET).


• Understand and apply principles of Performance Based Oversight in accordance with the Entity Performance Tool (EPT) process and consistent with the wider CAA approach to Performance Based Regulation.


• Deliver outcome focused oversight which takes into account the statutory compliance obligations, risk and performance with a safety outcome focus. Escalate risks to the appropriate level within SARG.

About You: Ideally you will be able to demonstrate industry experience with an equivalent qualification, be a proven expert with detailed knowledge of the functioning and management of the aerospace industry, and have proven aerospace experience, preferably working for an approved aerospace organisation in a Continued Airworthiness leading or supporting role.

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.

1\. Propulsion / Propulsive Systems – including electric/hybrid drive systems

2\. Software

3\. Flight Test / Aerodynamics

4\. Performance

5\. Structure and Materials

6\. Hydro – Mechanical systems – including flight controls

7\. Electrical systems

8\. Avionic systems

9\. Power plant installations / fuel systems

10\. Cabin Safety / Environment Control Systems / Icing

11\. Noise / Emissions

12\. General Airworthiness / Project Certification Management

13\. Continued Airworthiness

14\. Human Factors

15\. Design assurance and safety assessment

.

• 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.

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 n

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