Principal Flight Control Laws Engineer

Department: Engineering Delivery & Design Organisation

Location: Bristol Office

Employment Type: FullTime

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

We’re seeking a Principal Flight Control Laws Engineer to join our Flight Control team and take ownership of the design, development and validation of high-performance, certifiable control laws for the Valo aircraft.

You will steer the non-linear dynamic inversion control law work-stream, ensuring seamless transition across all flight regimes—from thrustborne to wingborne—and deliver fault-tolerant, safety-critical flight control capability. You’ll work across teams and suppliers, set technical direction, champion rigour and be the face of control laws internally and externally.

What you’ll do

• Lead the architecture, development, implementation and tuning of non-linear dynamic inversion control laws for a fly-by-wire eVTOL.

• Ensure the control laws meet performance, robustness and safety objectives across all flight regimes and failure cases.

• Define the control-law architecture, tuning strategy and model-based implementation approach.

• Collaborate across Flight Control Systems, Actuation and Control Law teams to ensure requirements flow-down and consistent interface definition.

• Support the integration of control laws in the flight control computer environment, and in simulation and test infrastructures.

• Define, oversee and drive verification strategies including piloted simulation, hardware-in-the-loop and flight test correlation.

• Ensure the evidence package supports certification, aligned with CAA/EASA SC.VTOL, ARP 4754B, DO-178C/DO-331.

• Provide technical leadership, mentoring engineers in the Flight Control Laws team.

• Act as the technical focal point for reviews, certification authorities and supplier engagements.

• Support safety assessment activities (FHA, SSA) with control-law related analyses and documentation.

• Collaborate with aerodynamics, simulation and test functions to ensure consistent modelling and validation assumptions.

• Participate in flight test data review, root-cause analysis and control-law updates as required.

What you’ll bring

• Significant experience in control law development for fly-by-wire rotorcraft, eVTOL or high-performance fixed-wing platforms.

• Proven ability to lead design from concept phase through to certification-ready implementation.

• Expertise in model-based design (MATLAB/Simulink, ControlDesk etc.) and real-time implementation.

• Solid working knowledge of ARP 4754B, DO-178C/DO-331.

• Strong analytical, problem-solving and communication skills.

• Experience coordinating across disciplines and multiple suppliers.

Nice to have

• Deep understanding of non-linear control, dynamic inversion and gain scheduling methods.

• Experience with EASA SC.VTOL Means of Compliance or equivalent frameworks.

• Exposure to flight test and piloted simulation.

• Background in handling qualities evaluation or control-system robustness analysis.

• Experience in OEM–supplier control system integration programmes.

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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.