Principal Flight Controls Engineer – Certification Lead

Electra Aero; Manassas (VA); On-site; USD 149,000 - 186,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Equity

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

Paid time off

401(k) with immediate vesting

Free catered lunches at Manassas HQ

Free on-site parking

Job summary

Electra Aero seeks a Principal Flight Controls Engineer to serve as a senior technical authority for the EL9 Ultra Short Takeoff and Landing aircraft. You will certify flight controls, develop verification plans, and guide cross-disciplinary teams through certification and entry into service.

You will mentor engineers, interface with authorities, and drive safety-focused verification across analysis, tests, and system assessments.

Qualifications

• B.S. in Aerospace Engineering or related STEM field.
• 10+ years in flight controls or related aerospace systems development.
• Experience supporting aircraft certification and verification activities.
• Strong understanding of flight control systems and architectures.
• Proven ability to act as a technical authority and SME.
• Excellent communication for authority-facing discussions.
• Experience with MATLAB/Simulink control development and verification.
• Collaborates effectively across IPTs and disciplines.

Responsibilities

• Act as flight controls certification focal for the EL9 program.
• Lead development and maintenance of the flight controls certification plan.
• Translate regulatory requirements into certifiable functions.
• Provide oversight for verification planning across analysis, SIL/HIL, tests.
• Support system architecture decisions and design-change impacts.
• Oversee FHA, PSSA, SSA alignment and safety activities.
• Interface with certification authorities and address reviews.
• Mentor engineers in certification, verification, and systems thinking.
• Coordinate across disciplines including safety, software, propulsion, and flight test.
• Support certification closure and entry-into-service readiness.

Skills

Flight controls

Certification planning

Aerospace systems

MATLAB / Simulink

Systems architecture

Technical leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

B.S. in Aerospace Engineering

Tools

MATLAB

Simulink

Job description

Electra Aero seeks a Principal Flight Controls Engineer to serve as a senior technical authority for the EL9 Ultra Short Takeoff and Landing aircraft. You will certify flight controls, develop verification plans, and guide cross-disciplinary teams through certification and entry into service.

You will mentor engineers, interface with authorities, and drive safety-focused verification across analysis, tests, and system assessments.