Configuration Manager

Role Overview

As a Configuration Manager at LODD Autonomous based in Abu Dhabi Emirate, you will be responsible for establishing and upholding controlled approved design baselines and effectivity rules within the Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) domain, ensuring key certification configurations including prototypes and test specimens are accurately managed.

Primary Duties

• Establish, maintain, and enforce approved design baselines and effectivity rules for UAS and key certification configurations.
• Manage baseline and effectivity registers to deliver precise configuration status accounting for internal readiness gates and authority submissions.
• Preserve specimen and test article conformity along with configuration indices to guarantee accurate linkage between certification tests and compliance artifacts.
• Ensure each compliance document, test plan/report, analysis, and submission index aligns with the correct baseline and effectivity.
• Control change processes impacting certification by maintaining linkage between changes, affected requirements, and updated evidence.
• Implement and maintain required systems by LODD DOH for governing and communicating current engineering drawing, specification, and design management changes to personnel.
• Maintain record-keeping systems compliant with DOH to ensure type design and compliance documentation remain auditable with accurate configuration references and histories.
• Support certification inspections and tests by verifying configuration identifications, serialization/effectivity, and documentation packages are accurate and current.
• Exercise authority to hold evidence release when configuration or effectivity is unclear or baselines are not properly controlled, driving necessary corrective measures.
• Ensure configuration record-keeping meets GCAA CAR 21 standards, maintaining design information/data and Permit-to-Fly/Flight-Conditions documents accessible to authorities.

Qualifications and Expertise

• A degree in engineering specializing in aerospace, mechanical, electrical, or systems engineering or an equivalent aviation technical qualification.
• Proven experience in configuration management for complex aerospace or aviation products, preferably within certification, flight test, or regulated engineering contexts.
• Strong proficiency in baseline and effectivity control, configuration identification, and status accounting methodologies and tools such as Siemens Teamcenter, Siemens Polarion, Microsoft SharePoint or Gitlab.
• Demonstrated capability to maintain test article configuration indices and uphold strict configuration discipline ensuring test readiness and certification evidence accuracy.
• Experience in managing change control communications to effectively inform teams about updates in drawings, specifications, and procedures.
• In-depth understanding of configuration's role in airworthiness compliance evidence including traceability between baselines and compliance documentation.
• Strong skills in documentation and record-keeping to produce audit-ready configuration registers, effectivity statements, and controlled histories.
• Ability to critically assess and halt releases when configuration integrity is compromised, while proactively resolving such issues.
• Effective cross-functional collaboration with engineering, airworthiness/compliance, flight test teams, and external partners or suppliers.
• Familiarity with GCAA CAR 21 or EASA Part 21 design organization practices and documentation requirements is an advantage.