Senior Spacecraft Operations Engineer II- Secret Clearance (Aerospace)

Location: Based on site in Long Beach, California, United States

Base salary: $141,800–$212,600 USD annually. Total compensation including equity: $174,300–$269,875 USD annually.

Company

hirify.global is an end-to-end aerospace company developing rockets, spacecraft, payloads, and critical space subsystems for commercial, exploration, and national security missions.

What you will do

• Lead the technical direction, strategy, planning, and prioritization of mission operations activities.
• Advocate for spacecraft and ground-system operability, influencing architecture and program design decisions.
• Own mission operations requirements and lead their validation and verification.
• Define automation strategies and develop software-driven methods for mission operations, testing, and data analysis.
• Design, develop, and test flight software sequences, FDIR and telemetry configurations, ground software, scripting, and automation frameworks.
• Lead validation of flight products and procedures using flatsat, HITL, SIL, digital twins, and spacecraft simulations; support AIT testing and milestone reviews.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in software, computer, electrical, aerospace, mechanical, or another technical engineering discipline.
• 8+ years of direct experience in space mission design, satellite subsystems, ground systems, spacecraft command and control, or spacecraft operations.
• 3+ years leading engineering teams through spacecraft missions or related aerospace projects.
• Experience in mission operations, including on-console or operator-in-the-loop activities, and prior work as a Mission Lead, Mission Director, Flight Director, or Senior Spacecraft Operations Engineer.
• Strong understanding of spacecraft subsystems, orbital mechanics, space environment, rigid body dynamics, and fault detection, isolation, and recovery.
• Active U.S. Government Secret Security Clearance and eligibility under U.S. ITAR regulations are required for U.S. office roles.

Nice to have

• Master’s or PhD in engineering.
• Experience with spacecraft operations, satellite system design, or satellite ground systems.
• Experience with Git, CI/CD, cloud infrastructure, Jira, SIL testing, or HIL testing.
• Active TS/SCI U.S. Government Security Clearance.

Culture & Benefits

• Onsite work at the Long Beach headquarters with collaboration across U.S. and New Zealand engineering teams.
• Employee stock and an Employee Stock Purchase Program with a 15% discount.
• Medical, dental, and vision plans, including an HDHP with HSA contribution.
• Paid vacation, sick time, holidays, parental leave, disability and life insurance, and a 401(k) with company match.
• Onsite fitness facilities where available, subsidized EV charging, gym discounts, snacks, beverages, and employee discounts.