Staff Engineer, Fluid and Mechanical Systems (Aerospace)

Location: Seattle, Washington, United States; on-site

Salary: $170,000–$255,000 per year, plus bonus, benefits, and equity for full-time regular employees.

Company

hirify.global is a venture-backed defense-tech company developing intelligent systems, including Hivemind autonomy software, V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, and simulation technologies.

What you will do

• Own fluid-system layouts, thermal transport hardware, and adjacent mechanical design for a Group 5 UAV fighter aircraft.
• Develop ram-air circuits, liquid cooling systems, ECS/TMS fluid architecture, and supporting mechanical installations.
• Apply first-principles engineering to create hardware that is buildable, maintainable, and ready for vehicle integration.
• Design brackets, mounts, supports, routing, packaging, and installation hardware.
• Source COTS and custom aerospace components, drive suppliers to schedule, and assemble benchtop or vehicle-level test setups.
• Self-direct technical work and deliver functional hardware under accelerated development timelines.

Requirements

• 6+ years of experience in fluid systems design, thermal systems analysis, or mechanical systems installation in aerospace or a comparable regulated industry.
• B.S. or M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• Deep mastery of thermodynamics, fluid dynamics, heat transfer, mechanical design fundamentals, and tolerance stack-up methodologies.
• Experience with fluid-system sizing and analysis, including pressure drop, flow networks, heat transfer, and 1D fluid or thermal system modeling.
• Ability to create fluid-system layouts and mechanical installations that meet routing, packaging, maintainability, structural-interface, and vehicle-integration requirements.
• Experience with 3D CAD modeling, routing, layouts, and drawing release using Siemens NX, CATIA, Creo, SolidWorks, or equivalent PLM workflows.
• Hands-on ability to design brackets, mounts, supports, and installation hardware using hand calculations, tolerance analysis, and basic structural analysis.
• Experience sourcing COTS or custom aerospace components, managing supplier schedules, and assembling test setups.
• Ability to self-direct, prioritize technical tasks without oversight, and deliver functional hardware under tight timelines.

Nice to have

• Aircraft ram-air, liquid cooling, hydraulic, fuel, or thermal transport loop design experience.
• ECS or thermal management system design and integration experience.
• Experience with electro-mechanical or electro-hydrostatic actuation systems and related mechanical installations.
• Familiarity with MIL-STD-810, MIL-HDBK-516, and airworthiness verification planning for fluid and mechanical systems.
• Hands-on prototype building, fabrication, or mechanical assembly experience in a rapid R&D environment.
• Eligibility to obtain a Secret clearance.

Culture & Benefits

• Full-time regular employees receive pay within the listed range, bonus, benefits, and equity.
• Temporary employees receive the listed pay and a temporary benefits package applicable after 60 days.
• Offers are contingent on a cleared background and possible reference check.
• hirify.global is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer.
• AI tools may support parts of the hiring process, while final decisions are made by people.