Paint Engineer (Aerospace/Defense)

Location: Los Angeles, California, United States; on-site throughout specification, design, installation, commissioning, and launch

Company

hirify.global builds autonomous factories by combining AI, advanced software, robotics, and full-stack manufacturing for aerospace and defense production.

What you will do

• Own the end-to-end industrialization of the coating line, covering preparation, blasting, wet paint, powder coating, curing, specialty coatings, inspection, and buy-off.
• Own fire and life-safety compliance under applicable NFPA and OSHA requirements, including fire marshal coordination, permitting, and system acceptance.
• Specify equipment, evaluate vendors, manage RFQs, make build-versus-buy decisions, and run site and factory acceptance testing.
• Define process windows, qualify equipment, and create and validate work instructions across coating operations.
• Build the support team, establish operator training and certification requirements, and execute train-the-trainer programs.
• Solve yield and throughput issues during process maturation and hand the launched line over to production.

Requirements

• Hands-on aerospace or defense MRO coatings experience, including MIL-SPEC/CARC and AMS-spec coatings, corrosion control, surface preparation, stripping, masking, first-article inspection, and documentation traceability.
• Applied experience with NFPA 33, 86, 70, 30, 409, and OSHA 1910 requirements for paint operations, including hazard classification, ventilation, interlocks, AHJ coordination, and permitting.
• Experience writing equipment specifications, selecting vendors, and managing factory or customer acceptance programs.
• Experience standing up teams through train-the-trainer programs and working autonomously across compliance, equipment engineering, and cross-functional coordination.
• Comfort working on the shop floor daily during equipment engineering, commissioning, troubleshooting, and inspection.
• Must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, protected individual, or eligible to obtain the authorizations required under ITAR regulations.

Nice to have

• Experience launching paint, powder, or mixed-coatings lines from facility bring-up through steady-state production.
• NADCAP or AS9100 quality-system experience.
• PLC and controls knowledge sufficient to review interlock and SCADA logic.
• Experience negotiating fire-protection or insurance-carrier acceptance requirements with an AHJ.
• Experience building and certifying trainers who independently operate coating lines.

Culture & Benefits

• Medical, dental, vision, and life insurance for employees.
• 401(k) plan.
• Flexible vacation policy.
• Equity participation.
• Relocation support may be provided in certain situations based on business need.