Head of Airworthiness (m/f/d) - #34054

What You Can Expect

As Head of Airworthiness, you carry ultimate accountability for the certification and continued airworthiness of every VectaCore product under future EASA DOA (Part 21J). You build and defend the evidence chain that proves our systems are safe to fly. You are the voice that says "no, it does not fly yet" when the evidence is incomplete — regardless of commercial pressure.

• You lead the Design Organisation Approval (Part 21J) — certification basis, means of compliance, authority relationship with EASA and national CAAs.
• You are the final judge on whether compliance evidence is sufficient at each Stage-Gate. Without your signature, no certification milestone passes.
• You lead the functions Certification & Compliance, Flight Operations, and Technical Support / MRO.
• You own the Continuing Airworthiness system — occurrence reporting, airworthiness directives, service bulletins, the feedback loop from field to design.
• You manage the formal authority relationship with EASA, FAA, and national aviation authorities, host audits, and own the privilege scope of our DOA.
• You establish and protect a Just-Culture reporting environment — so occurrences are reported without fear and acted on systematically.
  
  

Your profile

• Education: A completed degree (university / university of applied sciences) in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or comparable. EASA Part-21 certification training and formal airworthiness qualification are prerequisites.
• Experience: At least 10 years in aerospace certification / airworthiness, with demonstrable experience in an EASA Part-21J DOA environment. Demonstrable experience leading certification programmes through to Type Certificate or comparable approval. UAS / UAV certification experience (Specific Category, CS-LUAS) is a clear advantage.
• Regulatory depth: Deep expertise in EASA Part 21J, the applicable certification specifications (CS-23, CS-LUAS, Specific Category UAS), Continuing Airworthiness (Part M / Part CAMO awareness), and occurrence-reporting obligations. Awareness of FAA frameworks (Part 21, Part 107) for the US market.
• Authority-relationship experience: Demonstrable track record managing the relationship with a certification authority — including negotiating certification basis and hosting audits.
• Mindset: Unshakeable integrity under commercial pressure. You defend your position toward executive management and shareholders when the evidence demands it. Calm, methodical, evidence-driven.
• Languages: Business-fluent German and English.
  
  

We offer

• One of the roles with the highest personal authority in the entire company — your signature decides whether a VectaCore product flies
• A direct line to executive management and full backing for integrity-driven decisions
• The opportunity to build an aviation-grade organization in one of Europe's most exciting UAV industries
• Responsibility for a growing team of certification, flight-test, and MRO professionals
• Flexible working-time models, hybrid working
• Modern workplace in Wels with on-site flight-test connection
  
  

Collective agreement

For this position we offer a gross annual salary starting from € 84.826,00 on a full-time basis. Depending on your qualifications and experience, overpayment is a given for us.

About Us

We are VectaCore. A European-owned technology company building unmanned systems (UxV's) for the air, water, and land. As a young company with a fast-growing team backed by the PIERER Digital Holding, we replace manual inspection, transport, and monitoring in industries like critical infrastructure and public safety. We do this because we believe the people who secure, protect, and build our world deserve uncompromising autonomy across every domain.