Retrofit Solutions Engineer (Contract)

About the role

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Position Summary

As a member of the Airbus Cabin Upgrade Engineering team, you will apply advanced aerospace engineering principles, practices, and standards to deliver high-quality cabin retrofit solutions. In this role, you will manage all technical and project aspects of assigned aircraft modifications-from defining global architectures and engineering drawings to managing international stakeholders, subcontractors, and certification plans. Additionally, you will provide critical on-site liaison support to customer and MRO facilities during modification embodiment.

About the role

% of Time Spent

• Design Engineering 40%
• Architecture & Design: Develop comprehensive cabin retrofit solutions ranging from global architecture definition to detailed technical design.
• Engineering Documentation: Create robust retrofit engineering drawings with a continuous focus on lead-time optimization, quality, and cost-efficiency.
• Kit Definition: Determine and specify the complete kit requirements needed to support the physical retrofit design.
• Project Management & Stakeholder Liaison 25%
• Project Execution: Develop aircraft modifications in strict alignment with the established project plan.
• Program Enablers: Author, develop, and manage program enablers, securing their timely and high-quality delivery.
• Stakeholder Management: Coordinate and manage all project stakeholders to ensure seamless, on-time engineering project delivery.
• Subcontractor Oversight: Manage external subcontractors, closely monitoring performance, cost, and delivery schedules.
• Interface Management: Serve as a strong technical liaison between internal teams and international Airbus departments.
• Certification & Compliance 20%
• Certification Planning: Develop the aircraft certification plan tailored to specific cabin modification scopes.
• Regulatory Support: Support the formal aircraft certification process in compliance with aviation authority requirements as required.
• Customer Support & Fleet Technical Assistance 10%
• On-Site Support: Provide direct technical support to on-site modification teams, including active deployment to customer airlines or MRO facilities.
• Query Resolution: Responsively answer and resolve technical queries during and after the delivery of work instructions and retrofit kits.

About the role

% of Time Spent

• Other duties as assigned 5%

Qualified Experience and Training

Required Education

• Bachelor's Degree (Mechanical Engineering/Aeronautic Engineering/Electrical Engineering)

Preferred Education

Required Experience

• Bachelor's Degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related technical discipline with a 0 - 3 years of engineering experience; OR
• Master's Degree in a related engineering discipline with a 0 - 1 years of engineering experience.
• Design & CAD Proficiency: Proven ability to create, review, and modify complex structural or cabin designs using industry-standard CAD tools (e.g., CATIA V5 or similar).
• Project Engineering: Direct exposure to project or program engineering methodologies, with a track record of driving technical milestones on schedule.

Preferred Experience

• Airline / MRO experience desired
• Aircraft Cabin related experience.
• Python or other programming language experience.

Required Licensure/Certifications

Preferred Licensure/Certifications

Travel Required

• Up to 10 % (Domestic and International)
• Citizenship
• Authorized to Work in the US
• Clearance
• Qualified Skills

Required Knowledge, Skills, Demonstrated Capabilities

• Ability to build and maintain an internal network with colleagues globally
• Ability to interpret an extensive variety of technical aircraft topics
• Excellent communication, coordination, and organization skills
• Global Network Cultivation: Proven ability to proactively build and maintain a strong internal network with engineering and program colleagues across Airbus sites globally (e.g., Toulouse, Hamburg, Mobile).
• Technical Synthesis: High analytical agility with the ability to quickly interpret and synthesize an extensive variety of complex, technical aircraft topics and translate them into clear action plans.
• Operational Excellence: Excellent coordination and organizational skills, with a demonstrated capability to manage competing priorities in a fast-paced aerospace environment.

Preferred Knowledge, Skills, Demonstrated Capabilities

• Familiarity with FAA or EASA regulations with regards to parts procurement, documentation and traceability
• Familiarity with aircraft modification and MRO operations
• Experienced in the use of industry standard illustrated Parts Catalogs, ATA Technical Manuals
• Regulatory Compliance: Strong familiarity with FAA and/or EASA regulations, specifically concerning parts procurement, certification documentation, and strict product traceability.
• MRO & Modification Operations: Practical familiarity with aircraft modification environments, Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) operations, and the realities of working on a live hangar floor.
• Technical Publications: Highly experienced in navigating and interpreting industry-standard Illustrated Parts Catalogs (IPC) and ATA Technical Manuals (e.g., AMM, SRM, CMM) to support design and kit definition.

Required Communication Skills

• Teamwork & Collaboration: A dedicated team player with excellent coordination and relationship-building skills, capable of working harmoniously across diverse, cross-functional teams including customers, external partners, airworthiness authorities, and international Airbus departments.
• Communication & Active Listening: Demonstrates a high level of listening and oral communication skills; confidently leads discussions regarding complex engineering issues, potential solutions, innovative ideas, and work statuses.
• Synthetic Mindset & Assertiveness: Possesses a strong synthetic mindset-able to distill complex data into clear, actionable summaries-combined with the healthy assertiveness required to drive project success and uphold engineering standards.
• Executive Presence: Strong presentation skills, with the demonstrated ability to effectively, clearly, and concisely present technical information and project risks to the management team.

Preferred Communication Skills

Required Technical Systems Proficiency

• Proficient in Google Workspace / Google Suite products for project collaboration, data analysis, and documentation.
• Service Bulletin Production: General knowledge of the Service Bulletin (SB) production process, including the lifecycle of authoring, reviewing, and releasing aircraft modification instructions.
• Technical Interpretation: Advanced ability to accurately read, interpret, and cross-reference Service Bulletins (SBs), complex Bills of Materials (BOM), and customer-specific modification requirements to ensure flawless execution.

Complexity of the Role

Level of Decision Making: (Level/Impact of decision making: strategic, tactical, operational)

• Advanced Project Management: In-depth knowledge of project management methodologies to accurately identify downstream impacts on diverse stakeholders, enabling optimal, data-driven decisions for project success.
• Proactive Risk Management: Ability to synthesize and utilize information from various disparate sources to anticipate bottlenecks and develop innovative approaches to mitigate technical and schedule risks.

Organizational information

Is this a people manager?: No

of Exempt Reports

of Non-Exempt Reports: Job Dimensions

• Internal Airbus Interfaces: Establish and maintain strong working relationships across various organizations within Airbus Customer Services and Line-Fit organizations globally to ensure alignment between retrofit solutions and production line standards.
• External Customer Interfaces: Interface directly and professionally with Airline customers throughout the lifecycle of the engineering projects to deeply understand, manage, and deliver upon their technical and operational expectations.

Nature of Contacts

Involved, negotiation type communication on a regular basis with internal and external parties

Physical Requirements

• Demand
• Frequency
• Onsite %
• 80%
• Remote %
• 20%
• Hybrid %

Additional information

Vision: able to see and read computer screen and other electronic equipment with screens, able to read documents, reports and engineering drawings.

Hearing: able to hear to participate in conversations in person and via teleconference or phone and to hear sounds on production floor including safety warnings or alarms.

Daily

Speaking: able to speak in conversations and meetings, deliver information and participate in communications.

Daily

Equipment Operation (personal computer, telephone, copies, fax machine, and related office equipment and using electronic identification card to enter building floors and internal doors): able to operate most office and personal electronic equipment and some tools including production tools such as hydraulic lifts.

Daily

Carrying: able to carry documents, tools, drawings, electronic equipment up to 30lbs/14kgs.

At Least Once a Month

Lifting: able to lift documents, tools, drawings, electronic equipment up to 30lbs/14kgs.

At Least Once a Month

Pushing / Pulling: able to push and pull small office furniture and some equipment and tools.

Daily

Sitting: able to sit for long periods of time in meetings, working on computer.

Daily

Squatting / Kneeling: able to squat or kneel to retrieve or replace items stored on low shelving.

Daily

Standing: able to stand for discussions in offices or on production floor.

Daily

Travel: able to travel independently and at short notice.

Rarely

Walking (include routine walking such as to a shared printer to retrieve documents): able to walk through office and production areas including uneven surfaces.

Daily

Personal Protective Equipment required: Required PPE includes, but is not limited to

• Safety Shoes
• Safety Glasses
• Hearing Protection
• Protective Gloves
• Respirators/Masks
• Administrative position only PPE required

Appropriate hearing/eye protection may also be required when visiting the shop floor

Steel-toed shoes are required for all shop floor visit

Additional Physical Requirements

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.