Composites Design Engineer (Space Launch New Zealand)

Location: Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand

Company

hirify.global develops sustainable and scalable space transportation systems across in-space propulsion, in-space servicing, and reusable spaceplanes.

What you will do

• Design primary and secondary composite airframe structures, including fuselage, wings, control surfaces, and internal components.
• Own components and assemblies from concept and detailed design through manufacturing, testing, and flight.
• Develop laminate schedules, manufacturing drawings, tooling, assembly fixtures, and engineering documentation.
• Perform structural sizing, optimisation, and trade studies using analytical and numerical methods.
• Work with manufacturing teams to deliver practical, producible, and robust designs.
• Support structural qualification, testing, flight-test campaigns, and integrated vehicle development with aerodynamics, systems, avionics, and propulsion engineers.

Requirements

• Experience designing composite airframe structures and flight-critical hardware.
• Ability to take ownership of components and assemblies across design, manufacturing, testing, and flight.
• Experience with composite laminate schedules, manufacturing drawings, tooling, fixtures, and engineering documentation.
• Capability to perform structural sizing, optimisation, and analytical or numerical trade studies.
• Hands-on approach, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and willingness to solve complex aerospace problems.

Culture & Benefits

• Work directly on the Aurora reusable spaceplane programme and flight hardware.
• Collaborate with international teams distributed across the Netherlands, France, New Zealand, and the USA.
• Fast-moving environment with broad ownership and visible engineering impact.
• Inclusive workplace supporting people from diverse backgrounds, identities, and experiences.