Senior Battery System Engineer

Department: Powertrain

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

As a Senior Battery Systems Engineer, you will provide technical and systems-level leadership for one of the most critical systems on the Valo aircraft. The battery system is central to aircraft performance, safety, certification, and entry into service, and you will act as the system authority responsible for its end-to-end architecture, integration, and certification readiness.

You will work at the intersection of mechanical, electrical, BMS, electrochemical, and aircraft-level engineering, coordinating across teams to ensure a safe, compliant, and high-performing system.

A typical day may involve leading system trade studies, developing and validating requirements, contributing to system safety analyses, reviewing test evidence for certification, or presenting technical decisions at multi-disciplinary design reviews. Your ability to make balanced engineering judgements, communicate clearly, and lead technically in a fast-moving certification programme will be key to your success.

What You’ll Do

• Act as the technical authority for the aircraft battery system, owning system architecture, interfaces, and integration from aircraft-level requirements through to equipment-level implementation.

• Lead the development, validation, and verification of battery system requirements in accordance with ARP4754A, ensuring robust traceability and certification readiness.

• Play a key role in system safety activities including Functional Hazard Assessments and Fault Tree Analyses in line with ARP4761.

• Deliver system-level performance analyses and trade studies, balancing safety, performance, weight, cost, and operational constraints.

• Define and support verification and validation strategies, including test planning, execution support, and certification-quality evidence.

• Act as the primary technical focal point across engineering teams, suppliers, and programme stakeholders, leading design reviews and technical decision-making.

• Work closely with programme management to align technical maturity with cost, schedule, and entry-into-service objectives.

What You’ll Bring

• Significant experience delivering battery or high-voltage electrical systems within a complex engineered product.

• Strong working knowledge of ARP4754A and ARP4761 or equivalent systems engineering frameworks.

• Demonstrated experience leading systems-level requirements development, safety analyses, and integration activities.

• Proven ability to work across multi-disciplinary engineering teams and influence technical decision-making.

• Excellent problem-solving, communication, and technical writing skills.

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, or a related discipline.

Desirable

• Deep knowledge of lithium-ion battery technology and associated support systems (thermal, electrical protection, BMS).

• Experience with high-voltage systems in aerospace, automotive, or other regulated industries.

• Working knowledge of DO-160, DO-254, and DO-178.

• Experience applying Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE).

• Previous responsibility for preparing and defending certification or design review material.

• Experience in test planning, data analysis, and reporting.

• Experience contributing to industry working groups or standards development.

• Typically 5+ years of relevant industry experience.

#LI-AH1

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.