Senior Stress Engineer

Vertical Aerospace; Gloucester; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

26 days holiday

Buy or sell days

Marital leave

Pension scheme

Bonus scheme

Share scheme

Wellbeing service

Breakfast provided

Job summary

Vertical Aerospace is seeking a Senior Stress Engineer to join our Airframe Engineering team and help shape the future of sustainable flight. You will lead structural analyses for airframe components, using hand calculations and FEA to meet certification and performance goals.

You\'ll mentor junior engineers, coordinate across design, loads, certification and test teams, and deliver substantiation reports for regulatory approval as we scale our eVTOL program.

Qualifications

• Significant experience performing stress analysis on metallic and composite aerospace structures.
• Strong understanding of hand calculations and finite element modelling techniques.
• Experience developing and executing structural substantiation strategies.
• Ability to identify load paths, predict structural behaviour and assess structural failure modes.
• Experience leading engineers and coordinating analysis activities.
• Familiarity with SC‑VTOL, CS‑23, CS‑25, CS‑27 and CS‑29 certification requirements (desirable).

Responsibilities

• Performing stress analysis of airframe structures and developing optimised solutions to meet demanding performance requirements.
• Leading structural assessments of composite and metallic structures using first‑principles calculations, and finite element analysis (FEA).
• Defining and executing analysis strategies aligned with programme and certification requirements.
• Leading small technical teams and coordinating analysis activities across multiple projects.
• Mentoring and supporting the development of junior engineers.
• Producing and approving structural substantiation reports and supporting certification activities.
• Collating verification and certification evidence to demonstrate compliance.
• Acting as an approval signatory for technical reports and engineering drawings.
• Collaborating closely with Design, Loads, Certification, Test and Manufacturing teams to deliver integrated engineering solutions.

Skills

Stress analysis

Finite element analysis

Leadership

Communication

Problem solving

Tools

HyperWorks

Advanced FEA tools

Job description

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 Senior Stress Engineer to join our growing Airframe Engineering team and play a key role in the development of our next‑generation aircraft. This is an opportunity to work on genuinely novel aerospace challenges, helping shape the future of sustainable flight from concept through to certification.
You'll bring deep expertise in structural analysis, strong engineering judgement, and a pragmatic approach to solving complex problems in a fast‑paced development environment. Whether your experience comes from aerospace, defence, automotive motorsport or another highly regulated engineering sector, we'd love to hear from you.

What You'll Do

• Performing stress analysis of airframe structures and developing optimised solutions to meet demanding performance requirements.
• Leading structural assessments of composite and metallic structures using first‑principles calculations, and finite element analysis (FEA).
• Defining and executing analysis strategies aligned with programme and certification requirements.
• Leading small technical teams and coordinating analysis activities across multiple projects.
• Mentoring and supporting the development of junior engineers.
• Producing and approving structural substantiation reports and supporting certification activities.
• Collating verification and certification evidence to demonstrate compliance.
• Acting as an approval signatory for technical reports and engineering drawings.
• Collaborating closely with Design, Loads, Certification, Test and Manufacturing teams to deliver integrated engineering solutions.

What You'll Bring

• Significant experience performing stress analysis on metallic and composite aerospace structures.
• Strong understanding of both hand calculations and finite element modelling techniques.
• Experience developing and executing structural substantiation strategies.
• Ability to identify load paths, predict structural behaviour and assess structural failure modes.
• Familiarity with technology development and material qualification.
• Experience selecting materials and developing structural concepts from early design stages.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to influence technical decision-making across multidisciplinary teams.
• Experience leading engineers and coordinating analysis activities.
• Desirable experience includes:
  • eVTOL, Advanced Air Mobility or other innovative aerospace programmes.
  • HyperWorks and other advanced FEA toolsets.
  • Automation of analysis and modelling workflows.
  • Fatigue & Damage Tolerance analysis.
  • Crashworthiness and impact assessment methodologies.
  • Experience across the full product lifecycle, from concept development through certification and in‑service support.
  • Familiarity with SC‑VTOL, CS‑23, CS‑25, CS‑27 and CS‑29 certification requirements.
  • Technology development and material qualification programmes.

Our benefits

• 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
• 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 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.

Location Bristol Office / Kemble, Cotswolds

Employment Type Full time

Department Engineering Delivery & Design Organisation