About Critical FlyTech
What is Critical FlyTech?
Critical FlyTech is a Portuguese aerospace software company set up as a joint venture between Airbus and Critical Software. Its website describes it as "A joint venture between Airbus and Critical Software delivering safety-critical, high-performance software for aviation, defence, and space." Critical Software's own page says it was "Founded in 2025 as a joint venture between Airbus and Critical Software" and that it is "51% owned by Airbus and 49% by Critical Software". The legal entity is CRITICAL FT, LDA, headquartered in Coimbra, Portugal, according to the privacy policy on the company site. The site shows four areas of work: avionics systems ("DO-178C up to DAL-A"), cabin, cargo and connectivity systems, simulation, methods and tools, and cockpit-oriented R&D demonstrators. It describes "15 years of collaboration, from the A350 avionics software program to the creation of Critical FlyTech."
Where will I work?
Critical Software's launch announcement says the company is "Headquartered in Coimbra with a second office in Lisbon", and the company website lists Lisbon and Coimbra as its offices. All five live adverts on its careers board are in Portugal: the IT engineer is listed in Coimbra and the other four in Coimbra or Lisbon. The adverts describe "Modern offices designed to foster teamwork, creativity, and well-being." None of them states a remote or hybrid policy, so the working pattern is worth asking about at interview. The IT engineer advert asks for "fluency in Portuguese and English".
What is the Critical FlyTech team like?
Critical Software says the venture "launched with around 120 specialists and is on track to grow to 300 people by the end of 2028", and that its teams "work with an embedded agile mindset". The live roles are engineering roles: a Software Architect for C and C++ with 8+ years of experience, an Embedded Software Engineer with 4+ years in embedded C and C++, a C++ Software Engineer for avionics, cabin management systems and flight control units, and an IT engineer who looks after the infrastructure and the Git, Jira, Confluence and CI/CD platforms. The C++ advert is open to people moving into aviation, saying "prior domain experience is a plus, not a requirement". The adverts describe a culture "where safety, excellence, and innovation guide everything we do" and "A team that values collaboration, learning, and high-quality engineering." The board also carries one standing spontaneous-applications advert, which is not a vacancy.
Work-Life Balance
Four of the five live adverts (the IT engineer, Software Architect, Embedded Software Engineer and C++ Software Engineer roles) list "Flex-Time – Work when it makes sense, aligned with your team and goals." as a perk, across corporate IT and three software engineering specialisms. No core hours, weekly hours or start and finish times are stated anywhere, and the company website and careers page say nothing about working hours, so the evidence is the adverts alone. Time off is described only as "Extra Holidays – Additional paid days as your tenure grows." with no number of days, and parental leave as "Extra Parental Leave – Fully paid extended leave for both parents." with no number of weeks, so neither can be measured against a standard.
Perks and Benefits
- Flex-Time: "Work when it makes sense, aligned with your team and goals" (four of the five adverts)
- Private health insurance
- Employee Assistance Programme: confidential support for you and your household
- Extra holidays: additional paid days as your tenure grows (number of days not stated)
- Extra parental leave: fully paid extended leave for both parents (length not stated)
- Continuous training, mentoring, and career development
- Competitive salary with performance-based recognition
- Modern offices designed to foster teamwork, creativity, and well-being