Regulatory and Certification Manager

At Skyways, we are building the future of air transportation with fully autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Backed by significant funding, including a $37M STRATFI contract from the U.S. Air Force, we operate at the intersection of commercial and defense markets. We have designed, built, and flown aircraft with real customers and government partners, and are now entering the next phase of the company: scaling toward production. Based in Austin, TX and supported by top investors including Y Combinator, Skyways blends rapid iteration with real world deployment. We design, test, and operate our systems in the field, then bring those learnings directly back into engineering and product decisions. As we grow, we are looking for builders and leaders who want real ownership, technical depth, and the opportunity to help take an aircraft from successful deployments to full production. The Opportunity Skyways has built a highly automated, long-range, cargo-delivery aircraft ready for the regulator's approval across a wide range of use-cases. This role owns how we make that transition real. As Regulatory and Certification Lead, you will shape the certification strategy for novel automated aircraft and operations, working directly with senior regulators and internal technical leaders. You will influence aircraft design, safety architecture, and operational concepts along the way. This is a high-ownership role for someone who wants to help define how highly automated aircraft are approved, deployed, and scaled globally. Certification & Regulatory Leadership:

Own, with the VP, the end-to-end certification and validation strategy for Skyways aircraft and operations, from early regulatory engagement through approval.

Serve as a technical and strategic interface with aviation authorities (FAA, EASA, and other global regulators), leading familiarization briefings, technical interchange meetings, and certification roadmap alignment.

Lead development of certification artifacts, including certification bases, White Papers, Means of Compliance, Issue Papers, and Instructions for Continued Airworthiness.

Provide authoritative guidance across engineering, manufacturing, maintenance, and operations to ensure design and program decisions align with certification and operational approval outcomes.

Standards, Policy & Global Engagement:

Represent Skyways in international standards bodies and working groups, influencing emerging UAS standards and policy to enable future operations and market access.

Translate evolving regulatory and standards landscapes into clear technical direction for internal teams and customers.

Design and lead regulator and ANSP demonstration programs to validate operational concepts using real-world data, including advanced and non-traditional operations

.Author regulatory research proposals and synthesize flight test results into actionable design, safety, and policy recommendations.

Performance & Safety Integration:

Define system-level performance envelopes across normal, degraded, and contingency conditions in collaboration with engineering and safety teams.

Integrate system safety analyses, assumptions, and metrics into certification strategies, operational limitations, and approval packages.

Guide test planning, metrics, and validation methods to support regulatory acceptance and scalable operations.

What You’ll Bring:

Demonstrated experience leading complex aviation or UAS certification programs, including engagement with civil aviation authorities at a senior technical level.

Ability to operate effectively in regulatory ambiguity and shape certification strategies where precedent is limited or evolving.

Proven skill translating between policy, safety, and detailed technical domains without loss of intent or rigor.

A strategic mindset that views regulation as a tool to enable safe, scalable, and commercially viable operations.

Bonus Points:

Experience with uncrewed aircraft systems, novel aircraft categories, or first-of-kind approvals.