Ground Support Mechanical Design Engineer II (Aerospace)

Location: On-site in El Segundo, California, United States. Employment requires authorization to work in the United States and U.S. person status for access to export-controlled technology.

Salary: $119,543–$152,749 per year, plus potential stock options and/or long-term cash awards.

Company

hirify.global develops commercial space infrastructure, including in-orbit pharmaceutical processing systems, reentry capsules, heat shields, satellite buses, and related production and test facilities.

What you will do

• Design, build, maintain, and commission ground support equipment and test systems for flight hardware qualification and manufacturing operations.
• Develop data acquisition systems, propulsion test stands, fill carts, thermal control systems, PLC cabinets, and gas and liquid systems.
• Integrate mechanical, electrical, fluid, and instrumentation systems into cohesive test platforms.
• Own test infrastructure as the Responsible Engineer, including centrifuges, TVAC systems, propulsion stands, gas benches, water flow stands, and torch test stands.
• Build cabinets, wire panels, and manage systems end-to-end from electrical design through commissioning and ongoing support.
• Partner with propulsion, avionics, GNC, and manufacturing teams while deploying and making minor edits to internal PLC and EtherCAT tooling.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related technical field.
• 3+ years of industry experience in mechanical design or industrial automation.
• Extensive experience with SolidWorks, NX CAD, or comparable tools.
• Experience wiring cabinets, PLCs, harnesses, connectors, and related electrical systems.
• Experience with Altium or comparable electronic schematic design software; migration to EPLAN is underway.
• Hands-on experience with high-pressure gas or fluid systems, environmental testing including TVAC, thermal cycling, and vibration testing, and propulsion test stands or other complex multi-subsystem test infrastructure.
• Experience integrating industrial hardware using EtherCAT, Modbus TCP/RTU, RS-232/485 serial, or similar protocols.
• Experience with at least one modern PLC ecosystem, ideally Beckhoff TwinCAT 3 with structured text under IEC 61131-3, or demonstrated eagerness to develop deep expertise.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced startup environment with shifting priorities and end-to-end ownership of problems.

Nice to have

• Aerospace experience, particularly spacecraft testing or ground support equipment development.
• Familiarity with spacecraft qualification standards and related documentation requirements.
• Experience developing safety-related control systems and evaluating solutions to reduce safety-related risks.
• Programming experience with low-level firmware or Python.

Culture & Benefits

• Work on vehicles, equipment, and materials built, integrated, and tested in-house.
• Collaborate with teams spanning propulsion, avionics, GNC, and manufacturing.
• Build thoroughly documented systems with accessible procedures and schematics to support reliable production operations.
• Eligibility for incentives through stock options and/or long-term cash awards.
• Inclusive equal-opportunity workplace with evaluation based on merit, qualifications, and performance.