Principal Airworthiness Engineer

DPP•San Diego, CA

4d•Onsite

About The Position

DPP is seeking a Principal Airworthiness Engineer for a 12-month W2 contract opportunity with a client in the aerospace and defense manufacturing industry. The position is onsite in San Diego, California. The candidate must be a U.S. citizen and able to obtain and maintain a Secret security clearance. Working within the Airworthiness Engineering Directorate, the engineer will support certification efforts across various air vehicle platforms. The role focuses on translating customer airworthiness certification objectives into system solutions throughout the product lifecycle, including flight releases, type certification, continued airworthiness, and airspace integration. The successful candidate will work in a fast-paced, collaborative environment on diverse assignments. The role includes technical airworthiness planning and verification, coordination across engineering disciplines and with customers, requirements analysis, and management of type design data and airworthiness evidence supporting military type certification and continued airworthiness.

Requirements

Bachelor of Science in a STEM discipline with 5 years of related experience, or a Master of Science with 3 years of related experience, or a Ph.D. with 1 year of related experience.
Familiarity with MIL-HDBK-516D.
Work experience leading development of airworthiness plans, a Basis of Certification, and related activities.
Work experience with UAS/RPAS airworthiness authorizations and type certifications.
Ability to obtain a DoD Secret clearance within a reasonable amount of time, as determined by business needs.
U.S. citizenship.
Ability to obtain and maintain a Secret security clearance.

Nice To Haves

Military aircraft development or modification experience.
Ability to initiate airworthiness certification process improvement initiatives.
DoD and civil airworthiness experience.
Work experience and familiarity with UAS/RPAS.
Design and systems engineering experience in one or more of the following areas: Structures, Flight Technology, Air Vehicle Subsystems, Avionics, Mission Payload Integration, System Safety, Flight Test, or Configuration Management.
Experience with USAF Airworthiness Policy Directives, Instructions, and Airworthiness Bulletins (AWB).
Control Account Management (CAM) and Earned Value Management System (EVMS) experience, including Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) planning and tracking, earned value reporting, variance analysis, and Estimate at Complete (EAC) forecasting.
Experience interacting with airworthiness authorities, U.S. DoD, or civil authorities.
Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and SharePoint.
Current active U.S. Government in-scope DoD Secret security clearance or higher, and ability to obtain and maintain Special Program Access (PAR/SAP).

Responsibilities

Perform technical airworthiness planning and verification support, including developing and negotiating airworthiness plans, bases of certification, means of compliance, and other certification activities for complex total systems with IPT/REs and customer counterparts.
Review and coordinate work with other airworthiness engineers and internal engineering disciplines across the total system, including design, fabrication, test, installation, operation, maintenance, and disposal.
Perform functional and process analyses, requirements allocation, and definition studies to translate customer requirements into criteria and derived requirements.
Ensure customer airworthiness certification objectives are systematically realized in system solutions throughout the product lifecycle, including flight releases, type certification, continued airworthiness, operations, and airspace integration.
Manage and maintain Type Design Data and airworthiness evidence in support of Military Type Certification and Air System Continued & Continuing Airworthiness as a member of the technical airworthiness staff in a System Design Responsible company.