Senior Principal Validation and Verification

Job Description

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.
Responsible for:
•Oversight of all aspects of Validation (to ensure the design meets the intent) and Verification (to ensure product compliance to requirements & regulations).
•Direction and definition of Pitstone site V&V strategy for projects and to address future needs.
•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,
•Influence investment decisions and CAPEX planning at site level and across the division.
•For each development project, to oversee, lead and/or coordinate the definition of V&V strategy to be implemented throughout the project lifecycle, across all Engineering disciplines. In order to enable adherence to budget, quality and time objectives in the overall context of the project. This entails coordinating with: Customers; Program Managers; Lead/Chief Engineers; Engineers across all disciplines; Project Managers; Test, Means & Laboratory team; Simulation & Means team. This would typically require interfaces with around 10 staff per project, maybe more depending on project size.
•Oversight of outsourced verification and/or validation work packages.
•Project V&V activities: management of improvement roadmap to drive cost reduction (typical budget £2M – £5M per project).
•Investment strategy: 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.
•As a subject matter expert, providing guidance and oversight to other V&V Strategy team members, with the opportunity for direct management of the team.

•Accountable for the quality of technical documentation of V&V activities on a given project (e.g. verification plans, test procedures and reports). Depending on project team allocations, accountable for authoring and peer review or approval of the documents to meet customer and regulatory requirements.
•Technically oversee all V&V activity
•Where appropriate, participate in development and qualification testing of Safran products and/or systems, data acquisition and analysis of tests results to demonstrate compliance.
•Determine trends, performance and reliability of Safran V&V methods and equipment, identifying areas for improvement or areas of risk.

Complementary Description

•Sets all ARP-4754 and ARP-4761 design compliance standards and guidelines for the site and / or multi-sites when project collaborations require this level of support. Provides training and coaching to ensure compliance to ARP standards
•Prepares supplier management plans and ensures all subcontractors (either work package or direct contractor) adhere to the ARP standards defined.
•Conducts ARP-4754 compliance audits of the relevant design teams.
•Accountable for defining the overall V&V strategy to be followed on a given R&T or R&D project across all levels and disciplines within Engineering. Being a subject matter expert, these would typically be the most complex of projects.
•Accountable for the quality of V&V Strategy Team activities and deliverables
•Accountable for verifying the customer and regulatory requirements can and have been achieved completely, correctly and without ambiguity. These include Systems, LRU and equipment requirements for generator, control and motor drives.
•Capturing customer requirements and defining the requirements data model. Accountable for administering the V&V data within a Model Based Systems Engineering framework and ensuring its global configuration is managed.
•Accountable for defining optimised V&V activities, using standard and non-standard methods, and specifying appropriate resources to meet project objectives.

Job Requirements

•Extensive experience in an Mechanical / Aeronautical Engineering discipline (or a relevant engineering qualification)
•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
•Extensive development and certification knowledge and experience e.g. thorough understanding of all aspects of development engineering including compliance verification, technical risk, compilation of technical documentation and use of instrumentation
•Advanced knowledge in one or more of the following areas is required:
oGenerators
oMotors
oDrives
oHybrid Power Systems
•Extensive experience of requirements management and associated tools e.g. DOORS / Integrity
•At least one of the following expertise :
oMachine and channel system testing
oElectronic HW / SW integration testing
oTest Equipment
oEMC testing
oEnvironmental testing (Vibration, Temperature, Altitude, …)
•Extensive experience in data acquisition systems and analysis tools and presentation of results
•Knowledge and experience of RTCA DO-160, MIL-STD-810 and similar environmental test standards
•Experience of the full aircraft electrical system would also be an advantage
•Ability to embark teams and create a vision or future roadmaps to deliver improved performance in V&V activities
•Ability to communicate clearly through written and verbal means to all levels of staff as well as other Engineering teams and external customers to gain credibility within this stakeholder audience.
•Ability to analyse and resolve complex problems by devising creative and effective solutions
•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
•Ability to plan and organise activities for a subset of the project team.
•Ability to work within agreed timescales, follow tasks through to completion and meet program deadlines
•Evidence of written English at interview stage. This will be through providing certification of a formal English or technical qualification studied in the UK or overseas in English. If this cannot be provided you will be required to complete and pass an online SHL English comprehension test as part of the interview process.

Specificity of the job

As required