Senior Flight Safety Engineer– Spaceplane

Join us in developing a remotely operated reusable spaceplane that combines the demanding performance of a rocket with the operational discipline of an aircraft. We're looking for an experienced engineer to own the flight safety analysis. There is no established playbook for a high-performance aircraft that matches the performance of a rocket, so you will shape one. You will define the methodology, build, validate and verify the, and run the analysis for every mission profile, often while the system design is still maturing. Lead the system safety analyses, including FHA and FTA to ensure that aircraft architecture and system failure rates support the flight safety analysis. This role suits someone who enjoys digging deep into a vehicle design, makes pragmatic engineering judgements, and wants real ownership of how we fly safely. If you want a narrow, heavily structured role, this is probably not for you. What You'll Do Own the Part 450 Flight Safety Analysis • Translate high-level target levels of safety into quantitative safety criteria for the flight safety analysis methodology. • Own the end-to-end implementation of flight safety analysis methodology, including trajectory modelling, malfunction flight modelling, failure probability analysis, debris modelling, population exposure analysis, and vulnerability modelling. • Lead development of the flight safety analysis tool and its verification and validation to software qualification standards. • Assess the vehicle system design at a high level to derive and assign probabilities of failure. • Run the flight safety analysis for each mission profile, determine flight hazard areas, prepare the analysis content for the Part 102 certification application, and support engagement with the regulator. Lead Aircraft System Safety • Perform system safety assessments in accordance with aviation industry practices, including ED-279 & ED-280 methodologies stemming from 14 CFR 25.1309. • Contribute and review Functional Hazard Assessments for . • Develop system-level safety requirements and ensure hazards are effectively mitigated. • Perform or contribute to Fault Tree Analysis, Common Cause Analysis, and reliability analysis in conjunction with aircraft design SMEs. Specify Flight Abort Behaviour • Specify the behaviour requirements for the flight termination and abort system, including flight abort rules, and the required response time. • Work with the engineering teams on flight abort system design and qualification, ensuring it meets requirements and is consistent with the flight safety analysis and, where applicable, RCC319. What We're Looking For You are an experienced engineer who takes ownership, enjoys working across disciplines, and is comfortable making sound technical decisions. We are looking for strong experience in: • Flight safety analysis for launch or re-entry under Part 450 (or Parts 417/431), or comparable range safety work. • Quantitative risk, trajectory, or debris modelling, and the verification and qualification of analysis software, methods, and models. • Functional Hazard Assessment, Hazard Analysis, Fault Tree Analysis, or Common Cause Analysis. • Systems engineering for complex aerospace or other safety-critical systems. • Aircraft, spacecraft, launch vehicle, or advanced unmanned aircraft development. Desirable: • Experience with Range Commanders Council Standard 319 flight termination system requirements. • Design, build, or qualification of flight termination systems. What Makes You Successful • You quickly understand the strengths and capabilities of the team, adapt your approach accordingly, and raise the technical standard by leading through example. • You naturally take ownership and drive work to completion. • You can understand