Senior Regulation and Airworthiness manager

About HyLight:

HyLight’s mission is to help society become more resilient to climate change by improving the observation and inspection of infrastructure.

We build HyLighters, airships that collect data across vast distances with zero emissions.

Our activities include:

• Detecting methane leaks from gas infrastructures (4% of global GHG emissions)
• Inspecting power lines to prevent outages and wildfires

By 2030, we aim to become the global leader in aerial monitoring.

In just 3 years, we have pushed the realm of possibilities: as we have:

• Developed 8 iterations of the HyLighter
• Logged over 300 flight hours
• Secured our first inspection contracts with Europe’s largest infrastructure operators
• Joined the world’s top startup accelerator, Y Combinator
• Raised €6 millions

HyLight is aiming for a diverse and included team, if your profile doesn't fit all the description but you can bring a diverse point of view, push it forward, it will be highly appreciated.

We’re well-funded and backed by top investors, providing the resources you wish you had when building your own business. We don’t care about traditional roles or titles—just that you’re smart, proactive, and bring the same founder-level ownership and drive to help us build something massive.

Job Summary:

This high-responsibility position is central to HyLight's core objectives. Your mission is to enable the HyLighter to fly in increasingly challenging scenarios: moving from VLOS to BVLOS and operating in high-population density areas. You will act as the regulatory bridge between our Tech, Operations, and Business development teams.

Personal Note from Josef (CTO)

"This role encompasses every facet of regulation: from securing flight authorizations and adapting our regulatory strategy to new drone laws, to managing high-level exchanges with French and European authorities. You will collaborate daily with our Tech team as they develop new HyLighters.

With thousands of flight hours ahead of us, the regulatory challenge is thrilling. Regulations for light drones like the HyLighter are currently being shaped at the national and European levels. This gives you a direct opportunity to influence the decision-making process and help write the future rules of the air."

The Mission:

Under the guidance of our CTO and in collaboration with the engineering teams, your responsibilities will include:

Mission 1: Regulatory Strategy & Development

• Enable BVLOS operations in populated areas, from SAIL II to SAIL III, starting in France and scaling globally:
  • Define and drive the regulatory strategy aligned with company objectives.
  • Make high-level technical and operational choices to support certification and scalability.
  • Anticipate and interpret regulatory trends (EASA, JARUS, NAA) to position HyLight ahead of requirements.
  • Implement the SORA methodology across complex scenarios, including challenging authorities to achieve 50 kppl/km² in SAIL II.
  • Lead advanced certification processes, including obtaining and validating SORA SAIL III approvals.
  • Unlock new operational capabilities (population density, weather envelopes, deployment models) through JARUS and NAA discussions.

Mission 2: Regulatory Representation

• Represent HyLight externally on all regulatory matters:
  • Act as the primary regulatory point of contact for authorities, clients, and partners, working groups (JARUS).
  • Lead interactions with any National Aviation Authority
  • Establish efficient and predictable coordination workflows with authorities.
  • Build client trust by demonstrating strong regulatory control, safety culture, and compliance maturity.

Mission 3: Operational Enablement:

• Translate regulatory approvals into fast, reliable, and scalable operations:
  • Manage the SORA process and technical documentation to validate client missions within a one-week turnaround.
  • Development and maintenance of approved operational and training documentation, operator qualification procedures, and supporting processes ensuring continued operational airworthiness.
  • Contributing to the structuring and scaling of the HyLight team in compliance with regulatory and operational requirements.
  • (Optional) Act as remote pilot during operations from the Brétigny base when required.

Under the guidance of our CTO and in collaboration with the engineering teams, your responsibilities will include:

• SORA & Regulatory Strategy: Implementing the SORA methodology across various scenarios and challenging authorities to find solutions to achieve 50kppl/km² in SAIL II.
• Advanced Certification: Leading the process to obtain and validate a SORA SAIL III certification.
• Global Expansion: Securing and managing authorizations to fly across the entirety of Europe and the United States.
• Operational Velocity: Managing the SORA process and technical documentation to validate all client missions within a one-week timeframe.
• Authority Liaison: Establishing a fluid workflow for coordination procedures with National Aviation Authorities (NAA), airports, installations, and prefectures.
• Documentation: Drafting regulatory documents required for commercial operations and technical manuals, including flight manuals and training documentation.
• Validation & Testing: Ideating and drafting requests for simulations and tests to validate vehicle behavior and safety hypotheses.
• Operational Growth: Unlocking new operational capabilities (density, weather, deployment) via JARUS or NAA discussions.
• Team Development: Preparing training procedures, training operators on HyLighter piloting/safety, and managing the ERP for the team.
• Customer Trust: Engaging with clients to develop confidence in our regulatory and safety standards.

Profile Sought:

The following list of skills is exhaustive, while you may not perfectly fit with the profile, we highly value personal growth and development. We see our interns as potential future team leads at HyLight.

Technical Skills:

This is an exhaustive list of sought after skills, if you have

• UAS Regulation: Expert knowledge of SORA (SORA 2.5 is a plus), SC Light UAS (specifically medium risk), and EASA Means of Compliance (2510, 2511, etc.).
• Proven Track Record: 5+ years of experience with successfully validated SORA SAIL II and III authorizations.
• Software Proficiency: Experience organizing drone operations using GIS software (QGC, Qgis, MyMaps, GEpro, etc.).
• Project Management: Ability to distribute tasks, manage complex exchanges with authorities, and explain regulatory concepts to non-experts.
• Innovation Mindset: Experience working with tech teams in a startup or high-innovation environment is a major plus.

Soft Skills:

• Entrepreneurial profile with strong "self-execution" and adaptation capabilities.
• Rigorous, resilient, and proactive in problem-solving.
• Strong institutional communication skills, acting as a trusted interface with aviation authorities and defense stakeholders.
• Nice to have: Pilot’s license (ULM, PPL, or professional remote pilot).

Languages:

French (professional working proficiency), English (fluent – internal communication and documentation)

What We Offer:

• Real responsibility and in direct contact with the founders
• Annual compensation: €60,000 - €90,000 (based on experience)
• Shareholder in HyLight upon hiring
• 100% reimbursement of public transport pass (Navigo) or €800/year for sustainable commuting
• Bike provided for commuting
• Free lunch
• Bi-annual offsite trips with the whole team
• Excellent work environment: international team, team events, beautiful offices on a former airbase

Why You Should Join:

• Founder Mentality: We value extreme ownership and want people who think like founders, fast decision makers, natural problem solvers, and executers.
• Ground Floor Opportunity: You’ll be helping to shape and grow a revolutionary company with the resources to back it.
• Impact & Speed: Work in a fast-paced environment where your contributions will have immediate, tangible effects on the company’s success.

Location:

• Office : Base 217, Brétigny-sur-Orge, accessible via RER C.
• Lab and Warehouse access
• You’ll work side-by-side with experts in embedded, aerospace, and hydrogen propulsion systems—where your impact matters from day one

• Introductory phone call (20 min)
• Video interview with our Safety and Airworthiness engineer Lois (40 min)
• Technical case study followed by a debrief with team members
• Reference calls
• On-site meeting with the team (1h)