The heady expansion of Experimental aviation during the COVID period was, for many, unexpected but the companies are leaning into increased demand by hiring. And one of those companies is Van’s Aircraft, the largest supplier of kits today by a wide margin. Currently, Van’s has several positions open on its Careers page, including a couple that should be more than exciting for the right-skilled person. Two of the seven currently listed involve working in the company’s prototype shop—there’s one entry-level position and one open for a more senior individual.
Of the entry-level job, Van’s says “The person who fills this position will inspect and maintain the Van’s Aircraft demo and training fleet, identifying potential issues, and ensuring aircraft availability on schedule. While primarily responsible for fleet maintenance and shop organization, the person who fills this position will also be paired with senior staff to validate prototype parts assembly and installation and help define assembly sequences and techniques, as well as developing/maintaining tooling and documentation supporting parts production, aircraft assembly, and customer kit assembly manuals and service information.”
One the more senior position, Van’s says the individual “will help organize the operations of the prototype shop. While this not an engineer position per se, the person filling this role will have opportunities to participate in the practical aspects of development, testing, and refinement of new products as well as existing product improvements. The successful applicant will also help conduct quality inspections in the Aircraft Assembly Division and with Quick-Build components, provide training sessions, and guide hands-on rework as needed.”
All positions are at the Van’s factory in Aurora, Oregon.
