Principal Propeller Engineer in Bristol

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: This is a rare opportunity to shape a critical system on a first-of-its-kind aircraft. As Principal Propellers Engineer, you will be the technical authority for all things propellers - directly influencing design decisions, certification activities, and system integration. You’ll work in a small, highly capable team, collaborating across disciplines to deliver a safe, robust, and certifiable solution for Valo. You’ll be hands-on, accountable, and at the centre of one of our most important engineering challenges.

What You’ll Do:

• Act as the company’s technical authority for propeller systems, setting the direction for design, development, and certification.
• Define, assess, and approve the propeller architecture - including blade design, hub, spinner, and related hardware - ensuring safety, performance, and regulatory compliance.
• Take direct ownership of complex engineering tasks, from analysis and design trade-offs to authoring and reviewing certification artefacts.
• Make and justify technically sound decisions where trade-offs exist, even when data is incomplete or emerging.
• Lead and support propeller certification activities to CS-P standards, and contribute to wider aircraft-level certification under SC-VTOL.
• Apply deep knowledge of materials, manufacturing methods, and in-service behaviour to ensure the propeller system is durable, maintainable, and certifiable.
• Drive integration of the propeller system with aerodynamics, structures, loads, rotordynamics, composites, and safety teams - ensuring consistency across performance, vibration, reliability, and system interactions.
• Provide technical leadership within the propellers team, mentoring engineers, setting engineering standards, and contributing hands-on to design and development.
• Support planning and execution of development, qualification, and certification testing - including on-site presence at Kemble and other test locations to ensure technical objectives are met and data supports certification.

What You’ll Bring:

• A degree or equivalent experience in aerospace, mechanical engineering, or a related field.
• Significant hands-on experience with propellers, rotorcraft rotors, or similar rotating machinery.
• Strong understanding of propeller design, construction, and in-service behaviour.
• Eligibility for, or a clear path toward, technical approver signatory status.
• Working knowledge of CS-P and familiarity with SC-VTOL certification.
• Experience making and justifying engineering decisions with incomplete information.
• Willingness to travel regularly to Kemble and other test locations.
• Desirable: experience with rotordynamics, composite structures, systems integration, or propeller aerodynamics.
• Desirable: prior engagement with certification authorities or potential to become a Compliance Verification Engineer (CVE).

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.