Director of Engineering

The Role

We are recruiting for a Director of Engineering, Platform to join a confidential next generation eVTOL aerospace programme based in Dubai. Reporting directly to the Chief Technology Officer (CTO), you will lead the engineering organisation for the Platform stream, ensuring successful delivery from early architecture through certification and into production.

This is a senior leadership role focused on programme execution, engineering operations and people leadership rather than hands on technical design. Working alongside the Chief Engineer, Platform, you will ensure engineering teams have the structure, resources and governance needed to deliver against programme milestones.

Key Responsibilities:

Lead and develop the Platform engineering organisation, including Chief Engineers and multidisciplinary engineering teams.

Drive engineering execution across the full product development lifecycle from concept through certification and production.

Establish and manage engineering governance, technical maturity reviews and programme gate reviews.

Allocate engineering resources and balance priorities across multiple workstreams.

Work closely with the CTO, Chief Engineer and wider leadership team to ensure programme objectives are achieved.

Monitor delivery, identify risks and implement mitigation strategies to keep the programme on schedule.

Build a high performing engineering culture focused on collaboration, accountability and continuous improvement.

Support recruitment, succession planning and capability development as the engineering function grows.

Engage with internal and external stakeholders, including certification authorities and strategic partners where required.

Ensure engineering activities meet quality, safety and regulatory standards appropriate for certified civil aerospace programmes.

Requirements

We are looking for an experienced engineering leader with a proven track record of delivering complex certified civil aerospace programmes.

Essential Requirements:

Extensive experience in engineering leadership within the aerospace industry.

Demonstrable experience leading Chief Engineers or equivalent senior engineering leaders.

Proven success building and scaling engineering organisations during the early stages of complex development programmes.

Strong programme execution, resource planning and engineering operations experience.

Experience delivering certified civil aircraft programmes through development, certification and production.

Excellent leadership, stakeholder management and decision making skills.

Ability to thrive in a fast paced, greenfield environment with evolving priorities.

Strong communication and team leadership skills.

Preferred Qualifications:

Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering or a related engineering discipline. A Master's degree is advantageous.

Experience working within an OEM environment.

Familiarity with civil aviation certification processes and regulatory requirements.

Experience leading multidisciplinary engineering teams across large, complex programmes.

Willingness to relocate to Dubai, UAE.

About the company

Were a small, tight-knit team of talent-hunters based in the City of Rebels, Nottingham, UK What we do: We provide specialist contractors and build product development and go-to-market teams in the Software/SaaS, Data and IIoT markets.

Who we do it for: Start-ups and scale-ups across the UK, Western Europe and the US. Were called Rebel Recruiters for a reason. And not just because it sounds cool. It keeps us on our toes. Always going against the established grain. We know what it takes to get your most critical hires filled, all without the usual hassle you get with agencies. Trust. Urgency. Results. Thats the Rebel way