B1 Licensed Aircraft Engineer

About Tatenhill

Tatenhill Aviation has been part of the Staffordshire flying scene since 1987. From our base at Tatenhill Airfield — six miles west of Burton-upon-Trent — we run a busy CAA-approved flight training organisation, offer aircraft hire and hangarage, and operate a commercial maintenance and continuing airworthiness department serving both our own fleet and a diverse range of privately owned aircraft. We’re a small, hands-on team where good people get to make a real difference.

Our maintenance department is a UK CAA Part CAO approved operation, and we are now actively investing in growing it — building new systems and processes, progressing towards Part-145 approval, and expanding the range and volume of work we take on. The B1 Licensed Aircraft Engineer is central to that plan.

The Opportunity

This is a senior hands-on engineering role with genuine scope to shape how a busy GA maintenance operation runs. We are growing our capability, investing in new systems, and progressing towards Part-145 approval — and the engineer who joins now will be at the centre of that, with real input into the standards and working practices we build.

We are looking for someone ambitious rather than comfortable. GA offers something most engineering roles do not: variety, direct relationships with aircraft owners, and the satisfaction of working on aircraft you care about — alongside a straightforward Monday-to-Friday, days-only working pattern with no shifts and no nights.

What you’ll do

At the core of the role is your B1 certification authority — signing the Certificate of Release to Service and taking responsibility for the airworthiness of every aircraft that leaves our hangar. Everything else flows from that.

A significant part of the work is customer aircraft. Private owners, flying clubs, and operators from across the region bring their planes to us for annual inspections, 50-hour services, engine work, defect investigations, and pre-purchase surveys. You will manage that work from booking-in to handback, keeping owners well informed and the standard high. The variety of types and the directness of those client relationships is one of the best parts of working in GA.

Alongside customer work, you will maintain our own training fleet — Cessna 152s, 172s, and PA-28s — and work with the CAMO team on continuing airworthiness and ARC renewals. You will also play an active role in implementing new systems and working practices as we develop the department, and in our progression towards Part-145 approval.

There is a junior team around you. You will help develop them — not through formal programmes, but by working alongside them and holding the standard. Your paperwork, your approach to defect investigation, your attitude to the job: all of it sets the tone.

What you’ll bring

Essential

• A current UK CAA or EASA Part 66 B1 licence, with at least Full Group 3 type ratings
• Solid hands-on experience on general aviation piston aircraft
• High personal standards — your documentation is as good as your engineering
• Clear communicator, comfortable dealing directly with aircraft owners and keeping them well informed
• Ambitious about quality — motivated to improve how things are done, not just maintain the status quo
• Self-directed and dependable — manages their own workload and follows through without being chased
• Right to work in the UK and able to commute to Tatenhill five days a week

Desirable

• B1.1 (turbine) ratings in addition to B1.2
• Experience conducting or assisting with ARC reviews
• Experience with structural repairs, aircraft rebuilds, or restoration work
• You fly yourself, or have done — you understand what getting an aircraft back quickly means to an owner
• Experience in a small or independent MRO, flying school, or GA maintenance environment
• Familiarity with CAA Part CAO or CAMO requirements and continuing airworthiness processes
• Any involvement in regulatory approval development (Part-145, Part-CAO, or equivalent)
• Experience with MRO or maintenance management software

What we offer

• 31 days annual leave including 23 days plus 8 statutory bank holidays
• Type rating support training into additional ratings relevant to the fleet and to your development
• A real progression pathway — as the department grows, so does the seniority and scope of this role
• Monday to Friday, 08:30 – 17:30
• Staff PPL course or aircraft hire discount — a meaningful reduction on PPL courses or self-fly hire rates at Tatenhill, for engineers who want to fly
• Tatenhill Membership — access to the full Tatenhill member community and facilities
• A small team where your work is visible, your judgement is trusted, and your ideas can actually change how things are done