Lead Mission Engineer (Aerospace)

Location: Los Angeles, USA (Must be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or asylee/refugee due to ITAR regulations)

Company

hirify.global is a venture-backed aerospace company building mass-producible, inherently safe microreactors for terrestrial, underwater, and space applications.

What you will do

• Lead technical product development for payloads from initial ideation to laboratory prototyping.
• Build simulation tools and models to integrate payload concepts into holistic nuclear and non-nuclear space missions.
• Serve as the primary technical point of contact for customers and stakeholders, including NASA, DOE, and the Intelligence Community.
• Perform market research and define operational concepts for future payload systems.
• Collaborate with engineering teams to ensure end-to-end mission success and drive trade-off decisions.
• Develop internal investment theses and manage technology licensing from USG and National Laboratory ecosystems.

Requirements

• PhD or Master’s degree in an engineering discipline or physics.
• 10+ years of technical experience, including 5+ years of leadership on a project or research team.
• Must be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or asylee/refugee to comply with ITAR regulations.
• Experience working with the Department of Defense (DOD), Department of Energy (DOE), or Intelligence Community.
• Deep knowledge of space operations, payload concepts, and relevant physics (particle physics, optics, thermodynamics, etc.).
• Ability to obtain a Top Secret or Top Secret SCI clearance.

Nice to have

• Demonstrated track record as a Principal Investigator in DOD or DOE R&D efforts.
• Experience working in a start-up environment.
• Strong negotiation, conflict resolution, and communication skills.

Culture & Benefits

• Mission-driven environment focused on solving complex energy and defense challenges.
• Emphasis on first-principles thinking and operating in the grey.
• Culture that values face-to-face collaboration and building teams in person.
• Opportunity to work on generationally impactful technology with top-tier investors and government partners.