Senior Spaceplane Certification Engineer

Dawn Aerospace; Christchurch; On-site; NZD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Dawn Aerospace is seeking an experienced Certification Engineer to own safety risks and mitigations in UAS and rocket flight operations. You will shape safety cases, work with flight operations and engineering teams, and ensure regulatory alignment for frequent unmanned rocket flights.

You’ll lead risk assessments, engage with authorities, and drive end-to-end certification deliverables while maintaining Dawn’s safety standards across the organization.

Qualifications

• Certification project management in safety-critical applications.
• Unmanned aircraft operations safety case development in Medium or High-risk categories.
• Civil aviation rules, airspace designation, and flight procedures.
• Launch safety and launch licensing.
• Quality management and/or safety management systems.

Responsibilities

• Manage Certification Projects and Liaison with Civil Aviation Authorities and External Stakeholders.
• Engage authorities to agree on acceptable risk mitigations and safety approaches.
• Resolve disagreements to enable progress while building trust with regulators.
• Collaborate with Flight Operations and Systems Engineering to provide requirements and guidance.
• Develop and maintain the safety case and ensure documentation reflects Dawn practices.
• Establish external stakeholder relationships to support the safety case and operations.

Skills

Certification project management

UAS safety case

Civil aviation rules

Launch safety

Quality management

Job description

Dawn Aerospace is seeking an experienced Certification Engineer to own safety risks and mitigations in UAS and rocket flight operations. You will shape safety cases, work with flight operations and engineering teams, and ensure regulatory alignment for frequent unmanned rocket flights.

You’ll lead risk assessments, engage with authorities, and drive end-to-end certification deliverables while maintaining Dawn’s safety standards across the organization.