The situation is that LAA Engineering is one department but with two 'sides' - the design side (initial airworthiness) and the continued airworthiness side - with a certain amount of cross pollination in some aspects.
After taking on two graduate engineers 2.5 years ago, the LAA were effectively over-staffed by one. One of the two Airworthiness Engineers retired last year and was not replaced, so the total staff numbers became as they should.
One of the former-graduate engineers who was on the 'continued airworthiness' side has recently 'defected' (
) to the CAA and therefore LAA Engineering is now effectively under-staffed by one. Hence the need for another Airworthiness Engineer.
The Chief Engineer has indeed just 'retired' to become a consultant for LAA Engineering and that role is taken by the form Deputy Chief Engineer under the named role of 'Chief Technical Officer'. The Engineering Director oversees the LAA engineering department as a whole and reports as such, to other members of the LAA Board.