Senior Principal Validation and Verification (V&V) Engineer

Senior Principal Validation and Verification (V&V) Engineer

Company: Safran Electrical & Power
Job field: Architecture and systems engineering
Location: Pitstone, Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom
Contract type: Permanent
Contract duration: Full-time

This role is responsible for leading and guiding the V&V strategy definition to enable demonstration of product and system-level compliance with customer and regulatory requirements in support of delivery of conforming Systems and/or Products in the electrical generator, control and motor drive domains.
This will include assessment, definition and technical direction of standards and roadmaps for the virtual and real domain V&V activities and means required to meet new customer expectations and embodying the best practices and lessons learnt from Safran Electrical & Power's significant body of knowledge and experience.

Responsibilities:

1. Oversight of all aspects of Validation (to ensure the design meets the intent) and Verification (to ensure product compliance to requirements & regulations).
2. Direction and definition of Pitstone site V&V strategy for projects and to address future needs.
3. Oversight of divisional interaction and working for V&V through interaction with staff in France and in the USA, to guide and inform the division-wide V&V strategy and approach.
4. Influence investment decisions and CAPEX planning at site level and across the division.
5. For each development project, oversee, lead and/or coordinate the definition of V&V strategy to be implemented throughout the project lifecycle, across all Engineering disciplines.
6. Oversight of outsourced verification and/or validation work packages.
7. Management of improvement roadmap to drive cost reduction (typical budget £2M – £5M per project).
8. Guidance of significant new capital investment project to meet new future V&V, average budget ca. £5M per year, of up to £1.5M per instance.
9. Providing guidance and oversight to other V&V Strategy team members, with the opportunity for direct management of the team.
10. Accountable for the quality of technical documentation of V&V activities on a given project (e.g. verification plans, test procedures and reports).
11. Technically oversee all V&V activity.
12. Where appropriate, participate in development and qualification testing of Safran products and/or systems, data acquisition and analysis of tests results to demonstrate compliance.
13. Determine trends, performance and reliability of Safran V&V methods and equipment, identifying areas for improvement or areas of risk.

Complementary Description

Job Requirements

1. Extensive experience in a Mechanical / Aeronautical Engineering discipline (or a relevant engineering qualification).
2. Extensive experience in the V&V process for aeronautical equipment and systems with significant knowledge of implementing ARP-4754 and ARP-4761 design compliance standards.
3. Extensive development and certification knowledge and experience.
4. Advanced knowledge in one or more of the following areas is required:
   • Generators
   • Motors
   • Drives
   • Hybrid Power Systems
5. Extensive experience of requirements management and associated tools e.g. DOORS / Integrity.
6. At least one of the following expertise:
   • Machine and channel system testing
   • Electronic HW / SW integration testing
   • Test Equipment
   • EMC testing
   • Environmental testing (Vibration, Temperature, Altitude, …)
7. Extensive experience in data acquisition systems and analysis tools and presentation of results.
8. Knowledge and experience of RTCA DO-160, MIL-STD-810 and similar environmental test standards.
9. Experience of the full aircraft electrical system would also be an advantage.
10. Ability to embark teams and create a vision or future roadmaps to deliver improved performance in V&V activities.
11. Ability to communicate clearly through written and verbal means to all levels of staff as well as other Engineering teams and external customers.
12. Ability to analyse and resolve complex problems by devising creative and effective solutions.
13. An aptitude for working methodically and systematically in a safe manner, sharing knowledge and experience with colleagues and engineers in a positive and proactive manner.
14. Ability to plan and organise activities for a subset of the project team.
15. Ability to work within agreed timescales, follow tasks through to completion and meet program deadlines.
16. Evidence of written English at interview stage.