Aircraft Certification Engineer
Location: Newport News, VA
Job Type: Contract
Starting Pay: $60.00/hour, with higher pay available based on experience
Position Overview
We are seeking an Aircraft Certification Engineer to support certification efforts for aircraft modifications, repairs, and aerospace programs. This position develops certification approaches, compliance plans, and technical documentation while coordinating engineering, testing, inspections, and approval activities throughout the project lifecycle.
The engineer will work across Engineering, Production, Quality, Program Management, and other technical groups to ensure aircraft modifications meet applicable regulatory, military, customer, and airworthiness requirements.
Responsibilities
- Develop certification strategies, plans, and means of compliance for aircraft modifications and repairs.
- Identify applicable FAA, military, customer, and airworthiness requirements.
- Create and maintain compliance matrices, certification plans, engineering reports, ICA documentation, and other certification records.
- Coordinate certification activities with Mechanical, Electrical, Design, Stress, Production, Quality, and Program Management teams.
- Work with FAA representatives, DERs, ODA organizations, military authorities, customers, and suppliers on certification requirements and technical reviews.
- Review engineering drawings, analyses, reports, test plans, and technical documentation for certification compliance.
- Plan and coordinate conformity inspections, ground testing, flight testing, and other compliance demonstrations.
- Support fabrication, installation, troubleshooting, testing, and aircraft modification activities.
- Participate in design reviews and provide guidance on certification strategy, regulatory compliance, continued airworthiness, and project risks.
- Maintain certification records under configuration control and ensure documentation meets applicable standards and procedures.
- Support improvements to certification processes, engineering standards, and lessons-learned activities.
- Assist with continued operational safety, post-certification engineering activities, certification scheduling, and risk management.
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related engineering discipline from an accredited college or university.
- Experience supporting aircraft certification, modifications, repairs, or aerospace product development.
- Working knowledge of FAA regulations, STC processes, FAA Form 337 major alterations, and Instructions for Continued Airworthiness (ICA).
- Experience developing or reviewing compliance matrices, engineering reports, test plans, conformity documentation, and certification artifacts.
- Ability to interpret engineering drawings, analyses, specifications, technical documentation, regulatory guidance, and military airworthiness requirements.
- Strong analytical, organizational, written, verbal, and technical communication skills.
- Ability to coordinate effectively with engineering, production, quality, program management, customers, suppliers, FAA representatives, DERs, ODA organizations, and military authorities.
- Ability to work in both office and aircraft hangar environments.
- U.S. Citizenship or Permanent Resident status.
Preferred Qualifications
- 5+ years supporting aircraft certification, STC programs, military airworthiness, or other regulated aerospace certification activities.
- Experience developing certification plans, compliance strategies, and means of compliance.
- Familiarity with MIL-HDBK-516C and military aircraft modification programs.
- Experience coordinating conformity inspections, ground tests, flight tests, and compliance demonstrations.
- Experience preparing engineering reports, compliance documentation, ICA, and certification packages.
- Knowledge of aircraft systems, structures, avionics integration, and aircraft modification practices.
- Experience with configuration management, engineering release processes, and AS9100 quality systems.
Success in This Role
Success will be measured by the accuracy and completeness of certification documentation, timely completion of assigned deliverables, successful regulatory reviews and testing, compliance with applicable requirements, responsiveness to technical requests, and the ability to identify and resolve certification risks throughout the project.
