Solar Array Engineer, Mechanical (Space Systems)

Location: Long Beach, California, United States; full-time onsite position. Travel of up to 50% may be required.

Salary: $112,340–$230,472 USD annually, depending on experience, capability, and business needs.

Company

hirify.global develops and manufactures next-generation space stations, satellite products, and crewed space infrastructure for government, corporate, and private customers.

What you will do

• Design and analyze solar array deployment mechanisms, including spring-driven hinges, latches, dampers, and hold-down/release devices.
• Design and analyze articulation mechanisms such as motorized gimbals, gear trains, bearings, and drive electronics interfaces.
• Build torque budgets, select space-rated drivetrain components, and perform bearing, lubricant, wear, and mechanism life analyses.
• Develop integration and test procedures, gravity-offload approaches, workmanship screens, and qualification test programs.
• Interface with structures, thermal, GN&C, and power teams to meet stiffness, pointing accuracy, disturbance torque, and power-transfer requirements.
• Support vibration, thermal-vacuum, shock, and life testing, as well as failure analysis, anomaly resolution, FMEA/FMECA, design reviews, and NASA deliverables.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, or a related discipline.
• 5–10 years of experience designing, building, and testing electromechanical systems, preferably spacecraft, satellite, or robotic mechanisms.
• Strong knowledge of bearings, gears, motors, springs, fasteners, structural load paths, and first-principles torque or force budgeting.
• Experience with environmental testing of mechanical hardware and hands-on assembly or integration of designed hardware.
• Ability to travel up to 50%, work evenings or weekends during critical mission milestones, and lift up to 25 lb unassisted.
• Access to controlled technical information requires U.S. person status or eligibility for deemed export licensing.

Nice to have

• Experience with deployable and motorized mechanisms, solar array drive assemblies, robotic actuators, BLDC or stepper motors, gearboxes, and anti-backlash systems.
• Knowledge of space-environment tribology, solid-film lubricants, space-rated greases, bearing preload, and lubrication-limited life analysis.
• Familiarity with NASA-STD-5017B, SMC-S-016, GEVS, deployment dynamics, spacecraft disturbance torques, and ACS interaction.
• Experience with NX or similar CAD, Teamcenter, MATLAB, Python, hand calculations, and FEA.

Culture & Benefits

• Full-time exempt employment with company equity.
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage, paid time off, paid parental leave, disability and life insurance, and access to a 401(k) plan.
• ClassPass credits, personalized mental healthcare, and employee discounts.
• Onsite food perks including snacks, coffee, drinks, dinner meals, and subsidized lunch.