Director - Civil Certification

Textron•Fort Worth, TX

1d•Onsite

About The Position

Bell is seeking a Director of Civil Certification to provide executive leadership over all civil certification functions, including Type Certification, Organization Designation Authorization (ODA) Administration, and Production Certification. This role ensures Bell maintains delegated authority, advances major Type Certification programs, and safeguards long-term commercial success. The Director will build and lead a team, oversee certification and production certification teams, act as the executive liaison to the FAA ODA Management Team, and provide guidance on commercial product validation. They will also guide audit readiness, lead validation/certification projects, translate regulatory expectations into engineering requirements, partner with Flight Test and Engineering teams, establish compliance tracking processes, and manage external certification resources. Additionally, the Director will serve as the lead ODA administrator, define the long-term structure of Bell’s civil certification and airworthiness organization, develop internal talent, and support future talent identification.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, Electrical, or related Engineering field (Master’s preferred).
At least 5 years’ experience managing FAA or FAA-delegated organization projects.
At least 10 years cumulative certification and flight test or product engineering leadership experience.
Demonstrated experience managing FAA or FAA-delegated programs, including certification basis, means of compliance, cert project oversight, and audit preparation.
Expert knowledge of FAA regulations, FAA Orders (e.g., 8100.15, 8110-4, 8130.2), and TC/STC/PC certification processes.
Proven capability leading multidisciplinary teams
Strong executive communication skills

Nice To Haves

Experience with novel configurations, advanced technologies, or emerging aviation concepts.
Knowledge of FAA, EASA, TCCA, ANAC, UKCAA, and other foreign CAA regulations and compliance strongly preferred

Responsibilities

Build and lead a team of Validation/Certification Project Specialists to work effectively with programs and certification authorities to type validate commercial products
Oversee Certification and Production Certification teams to ensure strong execution, regulatory compliance, and consistent ODA performance.
Act as the executive liaison to the FAA ODA Management Team, driving ODA performance and leading the organization through ODA renewal cycles.
Provide guidance and direction to Commercial Programs on commercial product validation by developing certification strategies and technical position
Guide audit readiness and responses, monitor ODA Unit Member performance, and ensure alignment with FAA regulations and policy.
Lead execution of validation/certification projects in support of the Commercial Programs team through development of strong relationship with domestic and foreign authorities
Translate regulatory expectations into clear engineering requirements and ensure certification considerations are embedded early in system architecture and design decisions across all disciplines.
Partner with Flight Test and Engineering teams to structure test campaigns that distinguish between engineering learning and certification evidence generation, ensuring test data is valid and usable for compliance.
Establish and maintain effective compliance tracking and configuration control processes to ensure the certified configuration aligns with approved design data and assumptions.
Select and manage external certification resources—including DERs, consultants, test labs, and conformity partners—to support compliance activities and evidence generation.
Act as lead ODA administrator
Define the long-term structure of Bell’s civil certification and airworthiness organization, developing internal certification talent and scaling capability as future programs grow.
Support of identification of future talent to support the EFUM pipeline