Inzpire - Expression of Interest - Principal Defence Air Engineering Consultant

About Inzpire

Inzpire is a highly innovative and rapidly growing defence and technology company that designs, develops, and delivers advanced defence-related training, products, and services. Recognised for excellence, Inzpire was crowned Employer of the Year at the British Ex-Forces in Business Awards 2023 and has been repeatedly listed as one of the ‘100 Best Large Companies to Work For’. Our friendly team comprises experienced and highly capable individuals, fostering a mature ‘can do’ work ethic. Our head office is located to the west of Lincoln, with operational specialists embedded alongside our Defence customers.

The Opportunity

Inzpire is inviting expressions of interest from Principal Defence Air Engineering professionals with the judgement, credibility, and depth of experience to support complex UK and international military air programmes. We seek individuals who can operate with authority, independence, and confidence in demanding MOD, DE&S, Front Line Command, Defence Industry, and international customer environments. The work supports safe, effective, and operationally relevant military air capability across the Defence Air Environment, encompassing areas such as airworthiness, certification, safety, engineering governance, complex air systems, capability delivery, systems assurance, test and evaluation, MAA/MRP compliance, through-life support, international programmes, and export activity.

The Role

Successful candidates will join Inzpire’s expanding Technical and Strategic Services Operational Business Unit, providing high-level engineering, airworthiness, certification, safety, and capability advice to UK MOD, Defence Industry, and international customers. Our Air Engineering Team supports complex military air projects and programmes across the Defence Air Environment, including fixed-wing, rotary-wing, RPAS/UAS, ISTAR, air mobility, maritime air, training systems, mission systems, and wider military air capability.

Depending on assignment, your responsibilities may include:

• Providing senior Defence Air Engineering, airworthiness, safety, certification, and technical assurance advice.
• Acting as a trusted customer-side adviser, helping customers understand technical risk, engineering trade-offs, risk appetite, evidence maturity, and decision options.
• Supporting Type and Continuing Airworthiness activity within MAA/MRP-regulated environments.
• Developing, reviewing, or assuring engineering, safety, certification, requirements, trials, acceptance, or Release to Service artefacts.
• Supporting in-service engineering, continuing airworthiness, sustainment, modification, configuration, operational availability, and capability enhancement activity.
• Contributing to capability development, requirements management, systems assurance, operational acceptance, and through-life support.
• Supporting export, international, Combat Air, or multi-national programme activity.
• Providing independent technical judgement, constructive challenge, and senior-level assurance.
• Leading or mentoring small teams, assuring the quality of technical outputs, and helping develop Inzpire’s Defence Air Engineering capability.
• Representing Inzpire in senior customer forums, working groups, reviews, and governance boards.

Typical outputs may include technical advice notes, airworthiness or certification assessments, safety and engineering assurance reviews, requirements and acceptance advice, governance papers, independent technical evaluations, senior stakeholder briefings, programme support outputs, and recommendations that enable informed customer decision-making.

Experience and Specialist Areas of Interest

We seek candidates with a strong combination of technical depth, operational understanding, regulatory awareness, stakeholder confidence, and sound engineering judgement. Relevant experience may include some or all of the following:

• Type and Continuing Airworthiness; Release to Service; Chief Engineer, Chief Air Engineer, Engineering Authority, or equivalent technical authority responsibilities.
• Air safety, certification, safety case, safety argument, hazard management, technical assurance, or engineering governance.
• MAA/MRP, Defence Standards, JSPs, ASEMS, MOD acquisition, DE&S delivery, Defence safety, or airworthiness governance.
• Civil/military certification, approval, or airworthiness frameworks, including MRP Part 21, MRP Part 145, MRP Part M, DAOS, MAOS, or equivalent frameworks.
• Initial airworthiness, continuing airworthiness, major modification certification, design assurance, design organisation interface, modification control, or configuration governance.
• Complex in-service air platforms, air systems, or mission systems through life.
• Fixed-wing, rotary-wing, support helicopter, RPAS/UAS, ISTAR, air mobility, maritime air, training systems, or complex air support environments.
• 4th, 5th, or 6th-generation air systems, Typhoon, F-35 Lightning, GCAP, Tempest, or other complex Combat Air programmes.
• NETMA, NATO, allied, coalition, or international air capability programmes.
• Low Observability, survivability, electromagnetic warfare, EMSO, mission data, platform integration, weapons integration, sensors, avionics, or complex systems integration.
• Airworthiness-related cyber security or security-informed certification of complex air systems.
• Test, trials, evaluation, operational evaluation, acceptance, capability release, export support, UK Government-to-Government activity, or international customer-facing delivery.
• Advising senior stakeholders within MOD, DE&S, HQ Air, Front Line Commands, industry, OEMs, or international programme organisations.
• Assuring the quality of technical outputs and helping customers make informed, risk-aware decisions.

Previous experience as a Type Airworthiness Authority, Chief Engineer, Chief Air Engineer, Engineering Authority, Release to Service Authority, or equivalent senior airworthiness, certification, or technical authority appointment would be highly advantageous. Chartered or Incorporated Engineer status, or Fellowship or membership of a relevant professional institution would be advantageous but is not essential where equivalent experience can be demonstrated.

The Person

We recognise that engineering credibility is built through a range of routes. We are interested in candidates who have held, or directly supported, significant airworthiness, engineering authority, capability delivery, platform, delivery team, operational support, Chief Engineer, Chief Air Engineer, Release to Service Authority, or equivalent technical authority appointments. Relevant experience may have been gained in the Royal Air Force, Royal Navy, Army Aviation, DE&S, MOD, Defence Industry, OEMs, international programme organisations, allied military air environments, civil/military aviation environments, or specialist defence consultancy. The successful candidate will be a confident, approachable, and professionally respected individual, able to operate with authority in complex customer environments. Comfortable advising, constructively challenging, and supporting senior stakeholders, they will bring a pragmatic, collaborative, and delivery-focused mindset. Strong analytical and critical thinking skills are essential, along with sound engineering judgement and the ability to translate complex technical, regulatory, or capability issues into clear advice, robust outputs, and practical customer support. The role requires someone equally at ease working independently, leading activity, supporting a wider team, mentoring colleagues, or integrating into customer organisations to deliver specific contracted outputs. Integrity, resilience, and strong interpersonal judgement are key, enabling the individual to build trust quickly and represent Inzpire to a consistently high standard. This is an opportunity to work in a specialist, agile environment where expertise is visible, valued, and directly connected to customer outcomes.

Security and Eligibility

Due to the nature of the work, candidates must be UK Nationals and must hold, or be willing and eligible to obtain, appropriate UK National Security Vetting. SC clearance is expected as a minimum for many roles. Some assignments may require candidates to hold, or be eligible to obtain, DV clearance. Vetting will normally include criminal record, security, and credit reference checks, and may require at least five years’ continuous UK residency. Existing SC or DV clearance would be advantageous, but we are also interested in candidates who are willing and eligible to complete the required vetting. Some roles may also be subject to nationality, residency, export-control, or customer-specific restrictions.

Availability

We have potential vacancies beginning in Summer 2026, alongside longer-term opportunities with start dates in the 6 to 18-month timeframe. Please let us know your likely availability when contacting us.

How to Apply

If you have senior Defence Air Engineering, airworthiness, safety, certification, complex air systems, or capability delivery experience, we would be pleased to hear from you. A CV is preferred, but we also welcome a short Expression of Interest from individuals who would like an initial confidential conversation about future permanent opportunities. Please include a summary of your background, areas of expertise, likely availability, and current security clearance status, where applicable. Please click apply and follow the instructions to upload your CV or submit your Expression of Interest. Please note that we are part of the QinetiQ group and you will be taken to the QinetiQ careers website to complete your application.

Benefits

Our comprehensive benefits package includes:

• 30 days paid holiday plus 8 days bank holidays per year.
• Uncapped paid leave scheme (upon successful completion of probation period).
• Company-provided private medical and dental insurance.
• QinetiQ Share Incentive Scheme.
• Enhanced maternity and paternity pay.
• Annual profit and performance-related pay scheme.
• Death in service (x4 salary).
• Company contributions into a group personal pension scheme.
• Business travel insurance.
• Tax-efficient cycle to work and charitable giving schemes.
• Tax-efficient electric vehicle company car scheme.

Equal Opportunities

Inzpire is committed to creating an inclusive and respectful environment for current and prospective employees. We recognise that a diverse, talented, and highly motivated workforce is pivotal to our continuing success, therefore our selection decisions are based on the merit of the individual, irrespective of their race, colour, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, or any other characteristic. We genuinely recognise the benefits of a diverse and inclusive working environment. We are proud to be a Disability Confident Committed Employer, a supportive signatory of the Armed Forces Covenant, and a Gold award winner within the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme. We are therefore delighted to offer a guaranteed interview scheme to service leavers, reservists, and military spouses or partners (including those of service leavers) who meet all our advertised requirements.