Senior Payload Systems Engineer (Space Systems)

Location: Westminster, Colorado, United States; hybrid schedule with in-office workdays Tuesday through Thursday and work from home on Mondays and Fridays.

Base pay in Colorado: $109,000.00–$145,000.00–$159,500.00 annually.

Company

hirify.global develops commercial imagery and spatial intelligence products supported by satellite, payload, and software systems.

What you will do

• Manage technical interfaces between imaging payloads and spacecraft buses across electrical, mechanical, thermal, and data domains.
• Lead and participate in system-level design trades covering performance, cost, risk, and technology insertion.
• Work with suppliers through site visits, deliverable reviews, and SRR, PDR, and CDR design reviews.
• Develop and evaluate payload concepts of operation, including power, data, and timing interactions across system states and modes.
• Assess emerging technologies, COTS/FoS hardware, mission concepts, and payload and bus designs for system-level integration feasibility.

Requirements

• U.S. citizenship and an active Secret security clearance or the ability to obtain one.
• Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Physics, or a related technical field.
• 5–7 years of experience with space-based optical remote sensing payloads or similar hardware systems.
• Experience developing spacecraft-to-payload interfaces and working cross-functionally with multiple space-segment teams.
• Experience with MATLAB, Python, and learning new software tools as job demands evolve.
• Understanding of requirements-management documentation and processes, including specifications and interface control documents.
• Experience working across organizational boundaries between payload, spacecraft, and ground teams.

Nice to have

• Master’s or PhD in Aerospace Engineering, Systems Engineering, or Physics.
• Systems engineering experience for space platforms, including radiation survivability and electromagnetic compatibility.
• Experience with STK, SPICE, HFSS, signal-integrity, or power-analysis software.
• Familiarity with visible, multispectral, or hyperspectral imaging payloads, data-processing requirements, and SNR or MTF performance metrics.
• Familiarity with FPGAs, processors, memory, and storage technologies.
• Experience with fault management, redundancy architectures, and reliability design for long-duration space missions.
• Familiarity with NASA GSFC, JPL, ECSS, MIL-STD-1547, or IPC standards.

Culture & Benefits

• Collaborative, cross-functional environment with shared ownership and a balance of lean execution and rigorous engineering.
• Full-time employment with hybrid working arrangements.
• 401(k) with company match, mental health resources, student loan repayment assistance, adoption reimbursement, and pet insurance.
• Incentive eligibility based on contribution, company performance, and/or individual results.
• The application window is three days from posting or reposting and remains open until a qualified candidate is hired.

Hiring process

• Apply through hirify.global’s Career page.
• The posting date is available at the top of the job posting on hirify.global’s Career page.