Landing Gear 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 2029 ahead of entering service with our airline and operator customers. We’re looking for a Design Engineer who enjoys solving complex engineering challenges, developing novel concepts and working with suppliers to turn ideas into practical solutions. You’ll bring a sound understanding of landing gear or comparable mechanical systems, alongside demonstrated experience managing engineering suppliers. Landing gear experience is valuable, but we’re equally interested in the skills you’ve developed through brake, hydraulic or other relevant mechanical systems. We welcome engineers at different stages of their careers to apply. Your responsibilities will reflect your skills and experience, with opportunities to develop your technical expertise and take on greater ownership. What you’ll do Working across our engineering teams and external partners, you’ll contribute to or take ownership of: - Managing partners, consultancies and suppliers to deliver technical solutions, setting clear expectations and resolving engineering issues. - Developing design solutions that meet challenging requirements for weight, safety, maintainability and manufacturability. - Contributing to design reviews, tolerance analysis and configuration management. - Supporting trade studies and programme maturity gates. - Preparing verification and certification evidence. - Preparing and reviewing drawings and technical reports, with delegated signatory responsibilities where appropriately authorised. - Supporting the build and maintenance of our demonstrator aircraft. What you’ll bring We’re interested in your engineering skills, how you apply them and the outcomes you’ve delivered. We’re looking for: - Demonstrated experience managing engineering suppliers, including setting technical requirements, monitoring progress and resolving issues to ensure delivery. - Experience in landing gear, brake, hydraulic and/or comparable mechanical system design. - A sound understanding of mechanical engineering principles and a practical approach to design challenges. - Experience contributing to one or more stages of the product development lifecycle. - The ability to take ownership of engineering tasks, solve problems and exercise sound technical judgement. - Experience using CATIA and 3DEXPERIENCE, or transferable skills from comparable CAD tools. - Strong organisational skills, with the ability to prioritise and complete detailed work. - Clear communication and effective collaboration across engineering disciplines. Experience leading wider technical activities, coordinating others or holding delegated signatory authority is welcome, but isn’t essential. #LI-LG 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