EU Head of Regulatory Approvals, Drone Delivery, EU/UK Regulatory Affairs Prime Air

Full Job Description

Prime Air is bringing drone delivery to Europe and needs someone to secure the approvals that make it legal to fly. You will own the EU regulatory approval programme end to end, from first authority conversation to authorisation granted. You will be our named point of contact to EASA and national aviation authorities, sign our submissions, and own both the operational and the airworthiness sides of each application. You will build the safety cases, run the in-country consultants who support them, and carry the accountability they cannot. Success is authorisations in hand for our first European sites, strong authority relationships behind them, and a route to scaling across EU Member States after that.

Key job responsibilities Own Operational Authorisation and airworthiness applications for EU site approvals, from scoping to grant. Build and own relationships with EU National Aviation Authorities; sign submissions and represent Prime Air in authority meetings. Act as Prime Air's EU airworthiness point of contact to EASA, working with the wider Regulatory Affairs and Engineering teams on design validation inputs (Design Verification Report, type validation, system-level airworthiness). Own the complete application package and its submission for every EU site, integrating the airspace and air risk work delivered by the EU Regulatory Affairs Specialist. Own the SORA safety case: ground risk assessment, SAIL determination, Operational Safety Objective compliance and the environmental evaluations each application needs. Manage in-country regulatory consultants for local-language filing, safety-case drafting and authority logistics, owning the accountability that consultants cannot. Build the evidence base and authority track record that positions Prime Air for a Light UAS Operator Certificate (LUC) and scaled operations across Member States.

A day in the life You will spend your time in front of authorities, inside safety cases, and across our engineering, safety and operations teams pulling the evidence together. Expect regular travel to authority meetings and candidate sites in the EU.

About the team How do you get items to customers quickly, cost-effectively, and—most importantly—safely, in less than an hour? And how do you do it in a way that can scale? Our teams of hundreds of scientists, engineers, aerospace professionals, and futurists have been working hard to do just that! We are delivering to customers and are excited for what's to come. If you are seeking an iterative environment where you can drive innovation, apply state-of-the-art technologies to solve real world delivery challenges, and provide benefits to customers, Amazon is the place for you. Check out more information about Prime Air on the About Amazon blog (https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/transportation/amazon-prime-air-delivery-drone-reveal-photos).

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent in a related technical field
• Experience in program or project management
• Can work proactively and independently, meet deadlines, and deliver on projects and tasks
• Experience with high-level negotiation and successful internal and external relationship management
• Extensive experience working directly with an EU National Aviation Authority on Operational Authorisations, type certification, airworthiness or operational approval project.
• Working knowledge of the EU UAS framework (2019/947 and 2019/945), SORA methodology, Operational Authorisations and U-Space, and the associated acceptable means of compliance and guidance material.

Preferred Qualifications

• Speak, write, and read fluently in English
• Experience engaging multiple national aviation authorities simultaneously.
• Engineering or operations experience in drone operations.
• Experience with EASA design verification of drones, Special Conditions for Light UAS (SC-Light UAS) and SAIL determination.
• Experience implementing scalable compliance solutions (technology, procedures, processes, etc.) in a regulated environment.
• Understanding of how airspace access, operational approval and airworthiness certification interact for drone operations.
• Experience coordinating environmental permitting and spectrum or communications licensing at national level.

Bachelor's degree or equivalent in a related technical field Experience in program or project management Can work proactively and independently, meet deadlines, and deliver on projects and tasks Experience with high-level negotiation and successful internal and external relationship management Extensive experience working directly with an EU National Aviation Authority on Operational Authorisations, type certification, airworthiness or operational approval project. Working knowledge of the EU UAS framework (2019/947 and 2019/945), SORA methodology, Operational Authorisations and U-Space, and the associated acceptable means of compliance and guidance material.