Senior Engineer - Airworthiness & Certification

A career at Horizon is for people who want hard problems and a clear purpose. We are building a hybrid-electric eVTOL aircraft, and we are taking our design from demonstrator to certified aircraft. Few engineers get to say they helped bring a new kind of aircraft into the world. Here, you will.

We are growing, and growth brings structure: clear processes, defined roles and room to specialise. We keep the hands-on approach and the pace of a small team. You will own real work, see your decisions take shape on the aircraft, and work beside the people who make them.

What we do here is hard. We support each other through the tough stretches, and we hold each other to a high standard. The work you do now will shape how people travel for decades. If you want your career to count for something, and to leave work behind you are proud of, you will fit here.

What we need you to bring.

Horizon is seeking an open, enthusiastic, experienced Senior Engineer – Airworthiness & Certification. Your role will drive day-to-day certification and compliance work for the Cavorite X7 hybrid-electric eVTOL. Reporting to the Head of the Office of Airworthiness, you will lead assigned compliance areas from planning through regulator acceptance, act as a key technical contact with Transport Canada Civil Aviation (TCCA), and guide engineers across the program on how to show compliance. You will help build the processes that keep the aircraft airworthy in service and support regulatory validation.

Your Day- To-DayCertification Program Support

• Deliver assigned certification work packages within the type certification programme set by the Head of the Office of Airworthiness
• Support technical engagement with Transport Canada Civil Aviation (TCCA), and contribute to FAA validation activities under the powered-lift framework
• Prepare technical content for certification meetings, issue papers and familiarisation briefings
• Draft Certification Basis inputs, including proposed Special Conditions, Equivalent Safety Findings and exemption requests, for review and approval
• Track powered-lift and VTOL rulemaking and assess its technical impact on assigned systems
• Support gap analysis for future validation with EASA (SC-VTOL), ANAC, UK CAA and CASA

Compliance Planning & Delivery

• Develop and maintain sections of the Certification Plan, Compliance Checklist and Means of Compliance (MoC) matrix for assigned systems
• Propose compliance approaches for novel features such as hybrid-electric propulsion, high-voltage systems, batteries, distributed lift and transition flight
• Coordinate compliance demonstration activities across analysis, ground test, lab test, simulation and flight test
• Write and review compliance reports, test plans and test reports before submission
• Maintain traceability from regulatory requirements through design requirements, verification and compliance evidence
• Track compliance status and raise certification risks early

Safety & Design Assurance

• Support safety assessments (FHA, PSSA, SSA, FTA, FMEA) in line with ARP4761
• Support development assurance alignment with ARP4754A, DO-178C and DO-254
• Represent airworthiness in design reviews so requirements are built in early
• Identify certification risks on assigned systems and propose mitigations

Process & Procedures

• Write and maintain airworthiness procedures and standards supporting Horizon’s path toward a TCCA Design Approval Organization (DAO)
• Apply configuration management and change classification (major/minor) processes
• Work with Quality on conformity inspections and production approval readiness
• Contribute to continued airworthiness processes and Instructions for Continued Airworthiness (ICA)
• Mentor junior engineers on certification practice and regulatory requirements

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Act as a certification point of contact for engineering, flight test, flight sciences, manufacturing and quality teams
• Flag conflicts between engineering schedules and certification milestones
• Provide certification status updates to the Head of the Office of Airworthiness

As we’re a small team, there is significant scope for you to advance your career and learn about adjacent disciplines.

Qualifications

• Engineering degree or equivalent
• 5+ years aerospace industry experience in design and development, with hands‑on involvement in airworthiness and certification activities
• Competent understanding of the Canadian Aviation Regulations (CARs)
• Competent understanding of FAA or EASA regulations
• Experience conducting validations with a foreign civil aviation authority
• Experience writing procedures and/or standards
• Experience working with TCCA or an equivalent civil aviation authority
• Programme management skills, including planning and tracking certification deliverables
• Strong written and verbal communication skills

Preferred

• Knowledge of TCCA and FAA powered-lift regulations and policy
• Exposure to EASA, ANAC, UK CAA or CASA requirements
• Experience with hybrid-electric or electric propulsion, high-voltage systems or battery certification
• Experience within a DAO, DOA or ODA environment

About Your Future Team.

You will join a team of engineers who solve problems no one has solved before. Many of them work across disciplines, and all of them care about getting this aircraft certified and flying. The culture is open and honest. People say what they think, ask for help early, and back each other up. We work hard, we enjoy the work, and we put family first. Your life outside Horizon matters, and we plan the work with that in mind.

Our Benefits.

• No Holiday Cap
• Hybrid Work Options
• Company Paid Group Benefits Plan
• Company Stock Matching Program
• Health Spending Account
• Equity Awards

This is an incredible opportunity to be at the forefront of a ground-breaking industry and work with a dynamic and innovative team. We offer a competitive salary, and the opportunity to work on some of the most exciting aerospace projects of our time.

Location.

This position will be located in our Ottawa, Ontario office. Our team is onsite, as a group, a minimum of two days per week. We offer relocation allowances in appropriate cases.

Not Quite Your Profile?

We would love for you to apply even if you have not met all the experience listed in this advert. We understand everyone’s career is unique and we welcome opportunities to broaden our knowledge in an open, diverse and inclusive way.

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