Design Engineer

Our Mission

At Vertical Aerospace, we are pioneering the way for electric aviation. The Valo, 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. Valo is targeting airliner-level safety certification in 2028 ahead of entering service with our airline and operator customers.

What to Expect
As a Design Engineer, you’ll contribute across the full airframe, working on fuselage, wing, and pylon structures. You’ll be involved from early concept development through detailed design and production release, helping to create mass-optimised, functional, and certifiable structural solutions. Reporting to the Head of Airframe Integration, you’ll collaborate closely with stress, manufacturing engineering, systems, and build teams to turn innovative concepts into flight-ready hardware.

What You’ll Do

• Design composite and metallic airframe structures using CATIA / 3DEXPERIENCE, from initial concept through to production-ready definition

• Develop mass- and function-optimised solutions that meet structural, manufacturing, and certification requirements

• Create detailed design data to support part manufacture and assembly build

• Work across fuselage, wing, and pylon structures to ensure robust integration across the aircraft

• Participate in multi-disciplinary design reviews throughout the aircraft development lifecycle

• Provide hands-on design support to the aircraft build process, responding clearly and pragmatically to shop-floor queries

• Collaborate with stress, manufacturing, and certification teams to ensure compliance and readiness for certification

What You’ll Bring

• Experience designing both composite and metallic structures within an aerospace or similarly regulated industry

• Understanding of structural design fundamentals, including tolerances and key characteristics

• Awareness of interchangeability principles and their importance in aircraft assembly

• Familiarity with aircraft structural certification and methods of demonstrating compliance

• Confident communication skills, with the ability to work effectively across engineering disciplines

• Experience using CATIA and 3DEXPERIENCE in a professional setting

• A degree in aerospace, mechanical, or a related engineering discipline

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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 performance based bonus - rewarding company and individual performance

• 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.