Vittadini began her professional career working for the Italian industrial partner within the Eurofighter consortium. amongst others Chief Engineer on the Wing High Lift Devices of the
A380. As head of Major Structural Tests, she was also instrumental in securing the
A350 XWB's First Flight and Type Certification. Other positions held by Vittadini include head of Airframe Design and Technical Authority for all Airbus aircraft and head of Corporate Audit & Forensic. More recently, she was head of Engineering within the
Airbus Defence and Space management board, reporting to Division CEO Dirk Hoke. In May 2018 Vittadini was appointed
Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of
Airbus and a member of the Airbus Executive Committee with responsibility for the technical development and coordination of the entire group. She left Airbus in 2021 after 19 years with the company, with
Sabine Klauke replacing her as CTO. In November 2021, Grazia Vittadini joined
Rolls-Royce as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) replacing Paul Stein. In her current role, her focus lies on further developing the current product portfolio while decarbonizing the aerospace sector and driving sustainable aviation. Rolls-Royce notably explores the possibilities for further efficiency gains in current and future generations of
gas turbine technologies, and in the longer term,
hydrogen and
electrical propulsion. Its other business units (Power Systems, Defence, Rolls-Royce Electrical and Rolls-Royce Small Modular Reactors (SMR)) are also part of the company’s energy transition strategy. Amongst her additional roles, Vittadini served as director of the Airbus Foundation Board and as a member of the Inclusion and Diversity Steering Committee. Vittadini is also Member of the Supervisory Board of
Siemens AG and the Franco-German New Space start-up The Exploration Company. In addition, she is a member of the Senate of the
Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and serves as advisor to the German Centre for Mobility of the Future (; DZM) and the Department of Aerospace Science and Technology of Politecnico di Milano (DAER). Grazia Vittadini also holds a Doctor h.c. in Engineering and Technology from
Cranfield University, UK, and is a Fellow of the
Royal Aeronautical Society and the
Royal Academy of Engineering. == Lufthansa Group ==