Technical Director

Job Description:

Join Airbus UpNext for a strategic demonstrator critical to the Airbus electrification roadmap, as Technical Director to lead the engineering. It will conceptualize, engineer, commission, and operate a new, permanent, state-of-the-art High Voltage Ground Test Facility on the Airbus campus in Getafe, Spain. 

The Technical Director (M/F) position is within Airbus UpNext and it consists of a limited contract linked to the deliverable of the demonstrator (estimated completion date end of April - 2028), starting ASAP.

Mission:

Reporting directly to the Head of Demonstrator, you will act as the ultimate technical authority, providing overarching engineering leadership, technical coherence, and governance across all project work packages and technical team members. Passionate and impatient about electric technologies and testing hypotheses and bringing learning into the business based on concrete demonstrations, you are the type of person who thinks about “how things can be done” rather than “if they can be done”.

Your main tasks will include:

• Technical Leadership & Baseline:
  • Establish and control the project’s complete Engineering Baseline.
  • Technically drive project’s development milestones: Development Plans, Specifications, Critical Design Review, Entry Into Service, Test Readiness Review, Final Project Review.
  • Own the overall Architecture and Design, lead critical Trade Studies to inform key technical decisions and manage the engineering Change Control process.
• Technical Objectives & Coordination:
  • Breaking-down the needs coming from the Top Project Objectives to feed the development team ensuring all technical activities are rigorously aligned against.
  • Coordinating the technical strategy and activities across all key areas: Test Means design and build, Industrial Facility technical requirements, R&T High Voltage prototypes production and the planning and execution of Test Operations.
  • Identify and manage competence needs and gaps across the teams.
• System Safety & Validation:
  • Lead the functional Safety Management across all domains, ensuring a robust approach to hazard analysis and mitigation.
  • Serve as the technical authority accountable for end-to-end safety sign-off, approving safe-by-design architectures, comprehensive risk assessments - HAZID / HARA - and operational test protocols to ensure zero-harm execution and full regulatory compliance across all project phases.
  • Define & manage the project’s complete Verification & Validation plan to ensure all technical requirements are successfully met.
  • Oversee the staged de-risking test campaigns at external facilities leading to full-system and HV phenomena testing on-site at Airbus Getafe Campus.
• Knowledge Capitalization & Handover:
  • Drive the analysis and capitalization of all technical data, ensuring a complete and valuable technical dataset of all project learnings and operational assets at FPR.
  • Guarantee the seamless, fully qualified Handover of the operational facility and capitalized learnings to Airbus CoCs by April 2028 for its continued operation beyond.

Your boarding pass

What you bring: 

• Leadership & Mindset: 
  • Pragmatic, delivery-focused, and comfortable navigating ambiguity in an agile R&T context while leading Airbus engineering teams, suppliers and contractors.
  • Transparency, humility & empathy. Autonomy, adaptability, availability & accountability. 
  • Readiness to step out of your comfort zone. Willingness to have fun!
• Proven Engineering Experience: 
  • 10+ years of experience on relevant Engineering Field.
  • Sound knowledge on ground test benches, electrical high-power laboratories, industrial test facilities - Ideally involving MW class equipment, HVDC networks, and power electronics.
• Communication & Network: 
  • Well established Network among industrial players, research institutes and Airbus departments - Aircraft of Tomorrow (1T), Systems (1Y), Testing (1V), R&T (1R). 
  • Fluency in English is mandatory to champion technical baseline in front of stakeholders and sponsors. Proficiency in Spanish would be a practical asset.
• Technical Background: 
  • Solid background in multidisciplinary integration - unifying civil/electrical infrastructure, MW class industrial power converters, safety-critical interlocks, environmental chambers, and real-time DAQ/PLC systems. 
  • Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Aeronautical Engineering - Systems or related field.
• Safety Rigor: 
  • Demonstrated command of electrical hazard management, HAZID, HARA, LOPA, LOTO, and functional safety standards.
  • Technical authority accountable for end-to-end safety sign-off.

What you get:

• Pivotal Role in a Strategic Mission: play a key part in a project at the forefront of aircraft electrification contributing to Airbus’s decarbonization roadmap. ♻️
• Build Something that last: Your work will create a high-value asset 💎 and learning contribution for Airbus’s future. 
• Develop Critical Competences: Acquire and develop a sound background in High Voltage systems and technologies, a field essential for the future of aerospace. This experience can provide a unique career development opportunity within Airbus.
• Work on the Edge of Technology: Explore disruptive technologies at their limits, deepening your knowledge of complex phenomena like arc-flash events and the effects of high-altitude conditions on electrical systems.
• Agile and Empowering Environment: Thrive in a work culture that empowers you to act and think like a start-up while being supported by the strong expertise of Airbus. 💪🏻 We value an eagerness to take initiative and propose efficient ways of working.
• A Great Team and Culture: Be part of a high-achieving, experienced and fun team in a shared open-space office with highly skilled colleagues. We are guided by the “Care for Each Other” value.
• Flexibility & Fun: Enjoy the ability to craft your calendar 🗓️ with flexible hours and the opportunity to work remotely, alongside regular UpNext community bonding events. And yes, we have complimentary freshly ground coffee ☕ and beverages 🧃 

The responsibilities and the technical scope of the job might evolve according to the agile working environment of the project, so being flexible is important.

About us

Founded in 2017, Airbus UpNext is actively shaping the future of aerospace by using demonstrators to evaluate, mature and validate new products and services. Our purpose is to pioneer game-changing technologies with Airbus.

In this role, you will embody the core Airbus UpNext values:

• Care for Each Other: Ensuring a supportive and inclusive environment.
• Be Simple: Finding the most efficient path to success.
• Be Audacious: Challenging the status quo to make the unthinkable real.
• Be Open: Collaborative solution-finding across diverse teams.
• Speed of Execution: Moving at the speed of a startup.

Feel the fire in your belly when you read this? If so…. Send us your application!

This job requires an awareness of any potential compliance risks and a commitment to act with integrity, as the foundation for the Company’s success, reputation and sustainable growth.

Company:

Airbus UpNext S.L.

Employment Type:

Fixed term

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Experience Level:

Professional

Job Family:

Chief Engineering & Architecture <JF-EN-EA>

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