Technical Authority – Controls
Job Description
Job title: Technical Authority – Controls
Company: GKN Aerospace
Job description: Fantastic challenges. Amazing opportunities.
GKN Aerospace is reimagining air travel: going further, faster and greener! Fuelled by great people whose expertise and creativity sets the standards in our industry, we’re inspired by the opportunities to innovate and break boundaries. We’re proud to play a part in protecting the world’s democracies. And we’re committed to putting sustainability at the centre of everything we do, opening up and protecting our planet. With over 15,000 employees across 41 manufacturing sites in 12 countries we serve over 90% of the world’s aircraft and engine manufacturers. There are no limits to where you can take your career.
Job Summary
GKN is actively engaged in a series of major, multi £M development programmes with the long term aim of enabling zero emission flight on a series of new aircraft programmes. We want to enable the complete electrification of Aircraft powered by Liquid Hydrogen, Fuel cells and Cryogenically cooled networks and motors. As such we’ve already built up a significant capability with an international team of over 70 specialist Engineers working on Liquid Hydrogen based propulsion systems, including storage (tanks), Fuel management, Fuel cells, Electrical networks, Motors and Inverters, with Cryogenics being an enabling technology. This ground breaking technology is maturing rapidly and we’re searching for specialist Engineers and Scientists who want to work with us in this rapidly changing, dynamic, multifunctional environment to help us push further and faster as we win more programmes and the market accelerates.
We are looking for a Controls & Software Technical Authority who can operate across multiple projects within Horizon 3 programmes.
Responsible within the Global CTO organization for Horizon 3 control systems from requirements elucidation and compliance through to systems implementation, test and in service operation. In this role you will be responsible for leading a team of control and software engineers developing the control system for an innovative adaptive and reconfigurable control system. Your focus will be on the research and development of systems for hydrogen and hydrogen electric aerospace vehicles where you will lead the controls and software development of a large hydrogen electric propulsion system and integration with hydrogen fuel system. Your initial focus will be upon supporting a large scale hydrogen flight demonstration program.
This is an exciting and potentially career defining opportunity. You will be an integral member of a team that is embarking on significant and challenging technology development projects; this project will be a major steppingstone towards achieving greener aviation thus helping protect our environment for future generations.
How You’ll Contribute
- Research and develop Horizon 3 controls and software systems with focus on development of adaptive and reconfigurable hydrogen power and propulsion as well as integration with the hydrogen fuel system
- Ensure that control and software requirements are captured, managed and developed into design solutions and validated implementations
- Develop the standards for control systems software development and verification
- Work with systems architects and engineering to ensure verification planning and test requirements capture system requirements and adequately validated
- Ensure coordination of design and development of rig test standard control systems and software for the ground demonstrator platforms- including test planning and execution
- Manage external project organisations; consisting of programme partners, suppliers and University partners as appropriate
- Manage and maintain controls and software work package budgets, reporting and schedule, including forecasting resources required
- Ensure development and insertion of Technology Development Plans (TDP), cost models and Technology Business Cases (TBC) for system technologies
- Work as a key member of the team developing systems engineering capability across GKN Aerospace globally
- Work alongside legal and procurement organisation to oversee related subcontracts
- Develop and maintain requirements and specifications both internally and as part of appropriate international standard working groups
- Provide technical support to regulatory discussions (CAA/FAA/EASA)
- Support to customer and supplier engagements including responding to RFIs
What you’ll bring
To help us make a difference, you’ll bring your passion and talent for what you do along with the following skills, experience, qualifications and attributes:
Essential:
- Engineering Degree
- Experience as a lead controls and software engineer
- Held Approval Authority for the design and development of complex adaptive control systems and software for aerospace systems
- Experience in the development of safety critical functional control through to development of software
- Experience in the development of safety critical control hardware
- Experience in test bench verification of SIL/MIL
Desirable:
- Experience in hydrogen systems and/or hybrid electric propulsion system
- Experience in the development of Copper and Silicon Birds for controls verification
- Experience in CS25 and/or CS-E Product Certification
- An active membership in one or more international standardization committees for aerospace in field, e.g. EUROCAE
- Experience in requirements based engineering (e.g. CodeBeamer, DOORs Next)
- Experience in Functional systems development (e.g. SPARX EA, Ansys SCADE Architect/Suite and or Rhapsody).
We are looking for people who want to make a difference, talented members with the skills and passions to become the best of the future in what they do. To be successful in this role you will have excellent communication skills with the ability to propose routes to solving complex problems, using both standard approaches and novel techniques. You will be highly organised, able to prioritize tasks and maintain efficient working in the face of challenging and changing work.
What We’ll Offer
Once you’re on board you’ll get the following perks and benefits:
- Competitive salary dependant on experience
- £5,500 car allowance per annum
- Opportunity to earn up to 22.5% bonus
- Hybrid working – giving you the opportunity to balance home and office working
- Industry Leading Pension Scheme = we’ll match your contributions up to 8% on a 1 : 1.5 basis
- Life Assurance 8 x salary
- 25 days holiday + bank holidays
- Income protection
- Shopping discounts
- Cycle To Work Scheme
- Employee Assistance Programme
- A collaborative, dynamic working environment
As well as a competitive package we’ll offer you a world of opportunity. We want to see your career fly! We’ll support your career progression by providing you with learning and development opportunities. That’s the beauty of being part of a global business, once you’re on board you never know where you career journey may take you!
We’ll offer you fantastic challenges and amazing opportunities. This is your chance to be part of an organisation that has proven itself to be at the cutting edge of our industry; and is committed to pushing the boundaries even further. And with some of the best training on offer in the industry, who knows how far you can go?
A Great Place to work needs a Great Way of Working
Everyone is welcome to apply to GKN. We believe that we can only achieve our ambitions through a coming together of diverse minds who enjoy collaborating in an inspirational environment. Through our commitment to diversity, inclusion and belonging and by living our five powerful principles we’ve created a culture where everyone feels welcome to contribute. It’s a culture that won us ‘The Best Workplace Culture Award’. By embracing and celebrating what makes us unique we encourage everyone to bring their full self to work.
We’re also committed to providing an accessible recruitment process, so if you require reasonable adjustments at any stage during our recruitment process please get in touch and let us know.
We are the place where human dreams, plus human endeavour, shape the future of aerospace innovation and technology.
