Senior Engineering Lead - Vehicle Performance & Dynamics

A career at Horizon is for those who want to do something extraordinary, yet with meaningful purpose. We take pride in pushing the boundaries of technology and customer experience to deliver something that has never been done before. We are a fast-moving organization that promotes a hands-on approach, supporting each other through the tough spots, generating a close-knit team with a family feel.

What we do here is hard, but then very few things worth achieving are easy. By joining Horizon, you will have the opportunity to work with our world-class entrepreneurial team who are passionate about delivering something special.

What we need you to bring.

Horizon is seeking an open, enthusiastic and experienced Senior Engineering Lead - Vehicle Performance & Dynamics. Your role takes ownership of the Flight Physics disciplines at Horizon to deliver a world class product and capability. Working within a complex stakeholder landscape and often with immature, developing and changing requirements, you will be expected to be hands on and assist and guide our internal departments to scope, develop, and deliver solutions. This is a prominent position within our organization, which puts people at the heart of its success, with great follow-on prospects. As our team grows, we expect you to take on direct team management responsibilities.

Your Day-to-Day:

• Own the aircraft performance model. Envelope boundaries, mission energy budgets, weight & balance limits, and range/endurance predictions; correlate continuously against flight test data.
• Lead the aerodynamic discipline. Rotor/propeller design, CFD campaigns, wind tunnel programs and airframe interference effects; approve aero databases used by FCS, structures, and simulation.
• Guide the loads program. Maneuver, gust, landing, and dynamic loads per applicable certification basis (SC-VTOL, Part 23/27); issue loads envelopes to structures and fatigue teams.
• Develop an aeroelastic and flutter test and analysis capability.
• Lead the 6-DOF flight mechanics model development. Trim, linearization, stability derivatives and controllability margins; assess flying qualities against relevant standards.
• Guide vehicle-level thermal analysis. Motor, inverter, battery, and avionics heat rejection across all flight phases and environments; set thermal interface requirements and, with your team, produce margin reports for certification.
• Lead the NVH program. Rotor, drivetrain, and airframe noise and vibration characterization; define vibration limits, manage acoustic test campaigns, and drive noise mitigation through design to meet community noise and cabin comfort targets.
• Own the engineering flight simulator. Aero database configuration, model fidelity governance, and pilot-in-the-loop evaluation programs; ensure the simulator remains a valid and controlled tool for FCS development, flying qualities assessment and crew training support.
• Author or review means of compliance for all flight physics-related airworthiness requirements; serve as a technical authority with Transport Canada, FAA, or EASA on vehicle dynamics topics.
• Build and lead the flight physics team. Set technical standards, manage external vendors and research partners and own the physics ICDs to ensure timely deliverables to structures, FCS, propulsion and flight test.
• Be an integral part of the team, projecting positive behaviours and influence onto the team.
• Ensure an in-depth knowledge of the standards and specifications appropriate to the disciplines.
• Challenge the status quo, bring new ideas to improve engineering quality, productivity and timeliness of delivery.
• Enforce standards, ensure rigor, resilience and continuous improvement in design solutions, meeting all regulatory requirements, conforming to specifications, quality and requirements within schedule and budget.
• Stay up to date with and implement the latest developments in your field.
• Drive the continuous improvement of our processes to increase safety and efficiency.

We are looking for people that will have the following qualifications and experiences: demonstrated experience (10+ years) in an aerospace flight physics roles, having worked across all phases of the lifecycle. Ideally you would have hands on experience eVTOL Certification regulations from the TCCA, FAA, and EASA. Experience working within ARP4754, ARP4761 and other relevant standards would be advantageous.

About Your Future Team.

As part of the team, you will tackle challenges and deliver something that has never been done before. The team is currently full of multi-skilled individuals who are some of the first Engineers to have joined Horizon.

Our Benefits.

People are the heart of our success, and we like to provide transparency in the way we operate. This is why our benefits are beyond the normal for Ontario, and we are constantly trying to improve these further.

• No Holiday Cap
• Competitive Group Benefits Plan
• Company Stock Purchase Program
• Hybrid Work Options

This is an incredible opportunity to be at the forefront of a ground-breaking industry and work with a dynamic and innovative team. We offer a competitive salary and the opportunity to work on some of the most exciting aerospace projects of our time.

If you have a passion for aerospace and eVTOL and want to work on challenging and rewarding projects, please apply today!

Location.

We are located just outside of Lindsay in the Kawartha Lakes area of Ontario, Canada. Our team is onsite at our facility, as a group, a minimum of two days per week. We also have a growing team in the Ottawa area.

This role will be based in the Ottawa area, with occasional travel to Lindsay required. We offer relocation allowances in appropriate cases.

Not Quite Your Profile?

We would love for you to apply even if you have not met all the experience listed in this profile. We understand everyone's career is unique and we welcome opportunities to broaden our knowledge in an open, diverse and inclusive way.

Full name

Email address

Message

Upload CV

Upload your CV/resume or any other relevant file.

Maximum file size: 100 MB.