Vehicle Safety Lead

Our Mission

At Vertical Aerospace, we are pioneering the way for electric aviation. The VX4, 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 of having the VX4 in service by 2030.

What to expect

As our Vehicle Safety Lead you will take ownership of safety engineering across the full aircraft lifecycle. You will operate at aircraft level, with responsibility not only for ensuring the delivery of core safety assessments, but also for driving a coherent safety process across all engineering domains.

You will be expected to lead by example - demonstrating strong technical capability in system safety, strategic thinking and a clear sense of ownership for aircraft level safety outcomes. This role requires someone who has a detailed understanding of functional safety processes, can provide safety focused input to design reviews and ensure that the functional safety activities are developed, maintained and communicated effectively throughout the organisation.

You won’t be doing this alone - you’ll work closely with engineers in your team but you will be responsible for ensuring that the team as a whole delivers its outputs on time, safely and to the required standards.

What you'll do

• Lead the aircraft level safety engineering activities, ensuring delivery of assessments and safety artefacts to support certification and program milestones.

• Develop and maintain the aircraft safety case, coordinating with all engineering functions to ensure alignment with design and operational assumptions.

• Plan, lead, and review all system safety analyses (FHA, PSSA, SSA, CMA, PRA, ZSA, etc.) across the aircraft.

• Ensure effective cross-functional integration of safety requirements and risk mitigations with design, test, flight operations and compliance teams.

• Act as safety focal point in design reviews, providing credible and constructive feedback to engineering teams.

• Develop and uphold a structured, auditable and proactive safety process, aligned with SAE ARP4754A/ARP4761 and SC VTOL.2510.

• Communicate safety priorities and status to internal and external stakeholders, including certification authorities.

• Provide technical coaching and development to junior and senior team members, growing a strong, high-performing safety team.

• Support strategic planning, team resourcing, and capability development for the Aircraft Safety team.

What you'll bring

• Education to degree level or higher in an Engineering discipline (Aerospace, Mechanical or equivalent).

• Experience leading safety engineering activities at the aircraft or system-of-systems level.

• Strong working knowledge of SAE ARP4754A and ARP4761, and regulatory frameworks including SC VTOL.2510 and 23.1309.

• Proven ability to plan and deliver multiple safety analyses and workstreams to aggressive schedules.

• Strong experience across the safety lifecycle delivering various functional safety analyses (AFHAs, PASAs, PRAs, ZSAs, ASA etc.)

• Effective communicator, able to represent the safety team in cross-functional forums and certification engagements.

• Comfortable managing complexity, making decisions with incomplete data, and updating plans as conditions evolve.

• Capable of setting a positive tone, managing ambiguity and driving accountability across teams.

• Experience working with industry tools for fault tree analysis and safety

Desired

• Exposure working on novel air vehicles (eVTOL, rotorcraft, multi-rotors, or UAS).

• Experience with 2X.1309 and SC VTOL.2510 and relevant regulations and guidance materials.

• Experience conducting Particular Risk, Zonal Safety, Common Mode and / or Reliability analyses.

• Knowledge of System-Theoretic Process Analysis (STPA) and its application to complex systems.

• Understanding of risk management and safety management systems.

• Exposure to Model-Based Systems Engineering.

• Awareness of the interrelationship between Cyber Security and Safety.

• Basic understanding of aviation software development and system communication protocols.

• Knowledge of RTCA DO-178C and RTCA DO-254.

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 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.