Principal Design and Certification Specialist (5521)
Salary: Range £78,000 - £82,000 plus a market related supplement – subject to experience
Contract Type: Full Time Permanent
Security Level: SC
Location: Gatwick/Hybrid – expectation of min of 2 days a week in office / onsite activities
Visa Restrictions: This position does not currently offer visa sponsorship
Closing Date: 10 Aug 2026
Interview Date: From 24th Aug 2026
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 Principal Design and Certification Specialist you will co-ordinate a team of Design and Certification Specialists who act as Project Certification Managers (PCMs) to deliver certification, validation and continued airworthiness activities.
Reporting to the Design and Certification Manager responsible for the delivery of aircraft and propulsion projects, you will be accountable for the delivery and co-ordination of certification and validation projects, in-service performance / continued airworthiness of products, across the many domains including those relating to commercial air transport, Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS), and innovation projects.
With a diverse scope, you will operate across the CAA providing resource to other capability areas, as outlined above. Delivering projects on-time, on cost and on quality. Engagement both internally and externally will be key in performing the role, and you will be expected to lead on future regulation initiatives whilst ensuring your team maintain an excellent understanding of future innovation projects and concepts.
Supporting the development of the team’s capability, you will expect to engage and advise on the maintaining and growing the capability and capacity of the certification team in line with the CAA’s strategy and business needs, working with the training department to deliver this.
Summary of Role accountabilities: A comprehensive job description is available on request.
Personal Accountabilities
- Promote a safety and learning culture that is risk based but also satisfies our basic statutory and international needs including compliance.
- Act in accordance with the CAA’s HR policies, applying our values and behaviours policies in their day to day role.
- Conduct Personal Development Conversations, including future personal development and progression opportunities.
- Approves leave for Specialists.
- Creating time to learn and develop.
- Ensure that all recommendations and decisions are proportionate to the needs and safety expectations of the sector and are consistent with extant regulatory policy (using objective risk assessment techniques as necessary).
Design and Certification Accountabilities
- Manage and prioritise continued airworthiness activities, in relation to aerospace products for which the CAA has responsibility. Ensure in-service issues are adequately addressed to maintain the intended level of safety.
- Prioritise certification projects in relation to aerospace products. 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.
- Lead a team of Design and Certification Specialists acting as PCMs as required to the deliver project and continued airworthiness activities, and as agreed by the Design and Certification Manager.
- Support the development or improving existing airworthiness requirements and engage and contribute to the development of new ones to cover new technology, novel applications of existing technology, and novel proposals for compliance demonstration.
- Liaise with manufacturers of aerospace products to ensure delivery of regulatory compliance on aerospace products, making recommendations as appropriate to colleagues inside and outside CAA (including other Regulatory Agencies) to ensure continued airworthiness and safety standards are met.
- Ensure aerospace products in-service defects including MORs are investigated and all necessary action taken to maintain safety standards. Take direct airworthiness safety intervention measures where necessary including 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).
- As directed, engage in the future research or contribute into areas of significant airworthiness concern. Facilitating the CAA engagement in decision making committees and working groups, as directed, internally and externally, nationally and internationally from a design standpoint.
- Support the provision of Management Intelligence that demonstrates the performance of the capability team to airworthiness colleagues and the wider CAA.
- Liaise and co-ordinate with other regulators and accident investigate bodies in relation to accident and events, and their ICAO Annex 13 investigations.
Approved Organisation Oversight Activities
- Support activities relating to organisational oversight, in accordance with internal procedures and policies.
- Use risk based best practice to direct a team of airworthiness safety professionals to ensure that they focus their efforts in those areas that can have the greatest impact on safe outcomes.
- Ensure proportionality, standardisation and consistency of approach in all tasks that we undertake.
- Take proportionate and timely action on organisations and individuals where their poor safety standards and performance are deemed unacceptable.
- Ensure that oversight of design organisations and entities follow PBO Principles, are risk based, proportionate and wherever possible transparent.
- Ensure that the team can provide timely expert technical assistance, guidance and advice both internally and externally on all Initial and Continued Airworthiness matters
- Support Specialists as required to the deliver oversight and continued airworthiness activities.
- 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 the CAA
About You: Essential Criteria
Proven aerospace experience, preferably working for an approved aerospace organisation, or regulatory organisation, with the ability to lead and support an experienced team of Specialists, guiding, challenging, and influencing technical decisions on multiple projects. The ability to demonstrate the leadership qualities required to lead critical reviews and to make timely and proportionate decisions to support the team.
You will be able to demonstrate comprehensive regulatory knowledge and experience within Safety or Compliance Management gained within industry, or expert and detailed knowledge of the functioning of aviation regulation gained through relevant experience.
The desire to continually develop experience through management training, project involvement and specific training, supported by a development plan, with the flexibility to contribute, as required, within other areas of the Design and Certification team. A proven level of team leadership experience gained through managing teams of experienced people and demonstrating good management techniques such as support, assertiveness, remote team management and encouragement of good wellbeing practices.
- Proven ability to monitor, guide and manage technical decisions on a range of major safety issues.
- Proven leadership and management within a design organisation or other regulatory body, preferably performing the role of Project Certification Manager.
- An engineering degree, equivalent qualification or demonstrated industry experience.
- Demonstrable experience in leading a team, supporting, coaching, mentoring, and providing guidance with certification activities.
- Operate in various cultural business environments at varying levels of seniority.
- 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.
Desirable Criteria
Able to demonstrate your knowledge of certification in one or more of the relevant technical Panels with sufficient experiences to have achieved a 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. Surveillance systems
15. Human Factors
16. Design assurance and safety assessment
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 –
Closing Date: 10 Aug 2026
Interview Date: From 24th Aug 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.
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