Director of Certification

Our Company

Our mission at DRONAMICS is to democratize air freight and enable same day shipping for everyone, everywhere. To achieve this, we are developing a new type of cargo airplane, one that is small, remotely-piloted and extremely fuel efficient. It can transport up to 350 kg over 2,500 km for a cost that's 50% lower than other airplanes. It flies autonomously, can be monitored and managed remotely via satellite, and can land and take off anywhere with at least 400m of landstrip This is the kind of technology that can transform whole economies. At first, it didn't sound possible, but we keep proving it is, which is why we've called it “The Black Swan”. It can land on short and unpaved runways, enabling on-demand point-to-point flights and speedy same-day delivery even to the most remote locations that would otherwise take days to reach over ground or sea.

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We are starting with domestic air networks in Europe and Australia with fleets of the Black Swan, taking advantage of the multitude of small airfields that are often unused, training local personnel as drone and logistics operators, and partnering with local industry to provide a valuable lifeline of getting goods in and out of small, remote, mountainous and/or island communities within hours at a cost that is often below even that of road transportation. We believe that rapid and reliable shipping has enormous socio-economic benefits , and our goal is to enable same-day deliveries for every single person on the planet at a cost that they can afford.

The Role

Working within the Design & Engineering Organisation the Lead Certification Specialist reports to the Director, R&D Quality and has broad responsibility for ensuring compliance with the Design Assurance System.

Responsibilities

• Managing the compliance activities, means of compliance and associated regulatory activities

• Supporting the Design Organisation Approval Process (DOA according to EASA Part-21) and EASA Design Verification

• Manage Design Verification and Certification Projects for clients

• Support the development of certification plans and compliance matrixes

• Review documentation and provide recommendations for improvement and professional compliance with requirements

• Participate in Design Reviews and advice on airworthiness matters

• Support in writing and creating the relevant Design Organisation documentation and manuals

• Monitoring and auditing the entire Design Organisation to ensure the compliance with the Design Organisation documentation, related procedures and EASA Part 21J & Verifying the technical content of deliverables

• Preparing and updating the ISM procedures & other related procedures where necessary

• Planning, managing, and conducting internal audits for the Design Organisation, including the management of follow-up activities to ensure the closure of corrective action plans

• Planning, managing, and conducting supplier audits, including the management of follow-up activities to ensure the closure of corrective action plans

• Preparing the internal audit reports and the supplier audit reports

• Monitoring and analysis of processes performed by the design organization team members, including collection of issues arising during a given process, and systematic and complete reporting about the of the process

• Support process owners in defining corrective actions and verifying the effectiveness of the corrective actions

• Support the Head of Independent System Monitoring for producing reports to management and taking the proactive steps for continuous improvement.

• Manage Design Verification and Certification Projects for clients

Support the development of certification plans and compliance matrixes

Review documentation and provide recommendations for improvement and professional compliance with requirements

• Participate in Design Reviews and advice on airworthiness matters

• Align with civil aviation authorities during development, submission and approval of any document related to design verification or certification

Essential Skills & Experience

• Significant experience with aircraft certification programs through the entire design, development & certification lifecycle (EASA/FAA Part 23 or 25)

• A Degree in Aerospace or equivalent or a minimum of 3 years experience in a similar role

• Working knowledge of EASA Part 21J and AS9100D Quality Management Systems

• Direct experience with Part 21/quality assurance audit planning & execution for aerospace engineering departments and aerospace suppliers

• A strong compliance and detail-oriented mindset,

• Excellent verbal & written communication skills in English

Desirable Skills & Experience

• Previous approval as Part 21J Compliance Verification Engineer

• Previous experience in working within a startup environment

• Experience in building manuals and procedures within a Design Organisation

What We Offer

• A competitive compensation package for a Series A company

• Lots of opportunities for personal and professional growth on a global level

• Tons of work, zero office politics - we are here to impact the lives of millions of people around the world

• A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to frame the future of how the world moves goods

Location

This role can be located in Europe with regular travel to Bulgaria, particularly in the first year of employment.