AALTO, a global leader in Stratospace. Based in Farnborough, AALTO is an Airbus subsidiary that manufactures, operates, and delivers services with its solar-powered, stratospheric platform: Zephyr.

Zephyr’s persistence enables continuous flight for months at a time. Its current flight-time record of over 67 days in the stratosphere. From above 60,000+ft, or 20km above ground, AALTO can deliver several applications including direct-to-device connectivity and high-resolution Earth observation.

AALTO operates in a new operational layer between most of air traffic and low-Earth orbit, Stratospace. This is where high-altitude platforms led by Zephyr deliver services to commercial and government partners. We can help monitor environments, observe borders, track natural disasters and connect unconnected communities.

Join us as we create a new domain of aerospace: Stratospace. You’ll be part of a highly-skilled, innovative and passionate group of people – Team AALTO. Together, we can Unlock Stratospace.

About The Role

As an Aircraft Architect, you will play a pivotal role in the design, development, and operations of the Zephyr system. Leveraging your extensive experience and expertise in aircraft architect engineering and air operations. You will lead and contribute to complex engineering projects, ensuring they meet performance, safety, and aviation standards. You will work closely with cross-functional teams to ensure successful implementation, meeting project objectives, and adhering to safety and regulatory requirements, while complementing other Aircraft Architects through strong mechanical and structural expertise.

Responsibilities:

• Aircraft Architecture and Integration:

  • Define and maintain the aircraft structural and mechanical system architecture, including primary and secondary structures, interfaces, and load paths.

  • Conduct aircraft-level design trades balancing weight, strength, stiffness, durability, aeroelastic behaviour, thermal effects, and manufacturability.

  • Ensure coherent integration with propulsion, avionics, and other aircraft Systems.

• System Modelling and Trade Studies:

  • Develop and apply top-level engineering models to support architectural decisions and system-level understanding.

  • Lead multidisciplinary trade studies, evaluating design options across performance, mass, structural efficiency, and operational constraints.

  • Provide quantitative support to key decisions using simplified and fit-for-purpose modelling approaches.

  • Ensure modelling activities remain aligned with programme maturity and engineering needs.

• Structural Engineering Leadership:

  • Provide technical authority in structural design and stress analysis.

  • Review and challenge design solutions to ensure robustness, efficiency, and certification readiness.

  • Guide the appropriate application of structural analysis methods and tools (e.g. FEA).

• Certification and Compliance:

  • Define and lead structural certification strategies, including means of compliance, substantiation methods, and verification approaches.

  • Act as Compliance Verification Engineer (CVE) where required and interface with certification authorities.

  • Ensure compliance with applicable airworthiness regulations and certification standards.

• Systems Engineering and Lifecycle Integration:

  • Lead structural contributions to requirements definition, decomposition, and traceability.

  • Support and contribute to aircraft and system-level design reviews (SRR, PDR, CDR).

  • Ensure alignment between structural design & integrity industrial requirements and programme objectives (system performance, maintainability & sustainability and operational/industrial cost requirements).

  • Support and contribute to configuration control governance (ECO, CCB), ensuring that structural and mechanical changes are properly assessed, justified, and aligned with the overall aircraft architecture.

• Testing and Flight Validation:

  • Define and oversee structural verification and validation activities, including ground testing and correlation with analysis.

  • Support flight test campaigns, including definition of instrumentation and assessment of in-flight structural performance.

  • Contribute to the interpretation of test data and validation of design assumptions.

• Customer and Stakeholder Engagement:

  • Act as a key technical interface with Chief Engineers, customers, and senior stakeholders.

  • Support technical reviews, trade studies, and design discussions with internal and external stakeholders.

  • Translate customer needs into coherent and achievable aircraft architectural solutions.

• Supplier and Industrial Interface:

  • Provide technical oversight of structural suppliers and partners, ensuring compliance with requirements and specifications.

  • Support supplier selection, technical reviews, and resolution of engineering issues.

• Risk and Safety Management:

  • Identify and manage structural risks, including failure modes, design margins, and manufacturing considerations.

  • Support aircraft-level safety assessments leveraging structural expertise.

  • Ensure appropriate mitigation strategies are defined and implemented.

• Leadership and Technical Influence:

  • Provide technical leadership and mentoring within the engineering team.

  • Influence aircraft-level decisions through sound engineering judgement.

  • Promote best practices in structural engineering, certification processes, and system integration.

Experience and Qualifications:

• Experience:

  • extensive of experience in composite airframe structural analysis with proven experience in technical leadership & coordination roles.

  • Proven experience in aircraft primary structure certification against civil specifications such as CS23, CS25 or any other applicable to this domain.

  • Proficiency in advanced structural analysis software and tools (e.g., ANSYS, PATRAN/NASTRAN).

  • Proven experience as an EASA CVE / FAA DER approver or any similar technical delegation is desirable for this position.

  • Flight test experience or involvement is desirable.

• RPAS Systems: Proven experience in the design, integration, and testing of RPAS systems is desirable.

• Education: Bachelor’s or master’s degree in aerospace engineering, or a related field or equivalent.

• Technical Skills:

  • Strong expertise in structural analysis (static, fatigue, stability, aeroelasticity) and lightweight aerospace structures.

  • Experience supporting architectural trade-offs and use of engineering models at aircraft level.

  • Working knowledge of systems engineering principles and tools (e.g. DOORS, JAMA).

  • Familiarity with applicable airworthiness regulations and certification frameworks.

• Communication: Excellent communication, leadership, and teamwork abilities.

• Regulatory Knowledge: Familiarity with the certification process and the ability to act as a liaison with regulatory authorities.

• Problem-Solving: Exceptional problem-solving and analytical skills.

• Aviation Standards: Knowledge of relevant industry standards and best practices in systems engineering.

Positioning within the Team

Provides aircraft-level architectural leadership with a strong mechanical and structural background, complementing other Aircraft Architects (e.g. avionics-focused) to ensure balanced multidisciplinary coverage across the aircraft

In addition to a competitive, market-aligned salary, we offer a comprehensive benefits package designed to support your wellbeing, financial security, and work-life balance:

Performance Bonus
Benefit from our short-term incentive plan, recognising and rewarding individual and company success.

Generous Annual Leave
Enjoy 25 days of annual leave, giving you the time to rest, recharge, and spend time on what matters most.

Private Healthcare
Access private medical insurance, alongside dental and optical cashback schemes, helping you and your family stay healthy.

Pension Contributions
Plan confidently for the future with our competitive personal pension scheme.

Income Protection & Life Assurance
Gain added peace of mind through income protection and life assurance cover, providing support when you need it most.

Electric Vehicle & Car Scheme
Access our salary sacrifice vehicle scheme, offering a cost-effective way to drive the latest cars.

Employee Assistance Programme
Receive confidential professional support whenever you need it through our dedicated employee assistance programme.

Employee Discounts
Enjoy a wide range of discounts and offers through Perkbox, covering everything from shopping and travel to leisure activities and everyday essentials.

This is all part of our commitment to creating an environment where our people can thrive both professionally and personally.

Does this opportunity excite you but you’re not 100% sure if you meet all the requirements for the role? Or are you concerned that ‘normal’ office hours aren’t possible given your personal circumstances? Whilst we can’t accommodate every flexible working request, we’ll try to find a practical solution. So why not engage with us and find out more about this role?

If this role isn’t quite what you’re looking for but are keen to be contacted about opportunities at AALTO, you can register your details here: https://careers.aaltohaps.com/connect