Sr. Automation Controls Engineer (Aerospace)

TL;DR

Sr. Automation Controls Engineer (Industrial Automation): Designing and deploying custom automated equipment and systems for scalable space vehicle production with an accent on controls architecture, PLC/HMI programming, and systems integration. Focus on building manufacturing capabilities from the ground up, optimizing robot paths, and performing virtual commissioning.

Location: Onsite in Central Texas, Greater Seattle Area, or Huntsville, AL. Must be a U.S. citizen, national, permanent resident, or lawfully admitted refugee/asylee.

Salary: $197,529 - $276,539 (for WA applicants)

Company

hirify.global develops reusable, safe, and low-cost space vehicles and systems to enable millions of people to live and work in space for the benefit of Earth.

What you will do

• Design control system architectures, including network topology, I/O distribution, and safety systems.
• Lead the industrial controls and electrical design of bespoke automation systems.
• Develop offline simulations to validate control logic, robot paths, and system behavior.
• Execute online debugging and commissioning of PLC, HMI, and robot programs from scratch.
• Lead factory and site acceptance testing (FAT/SAT) and the start-up of automated systems.
• Create detailed controls documentation, including sequence of operations and network diagrams.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical, Mechanical, Mechatronics, Controls, or a related field.
• Minimum 6 years of hands-on experience in industrial controls and automation systems integration.
• Expertise in PLC and HMI programming and control system architecture design.
• Experience with industrial safety system design (functional safety devices, safety PLCs).
• Must be a U.S. citizen, national, permanent resident (Green Card), or granted asylum.
• Ability to interpret and review electrical and mechanical drawings.

Nice to have

• Familiarity with machine safety standards (IEC 61131, ANSI B11, NFPA 79, RIA R15.06).
• Experience with simulation software such as Plant Simulate, Process Simulate, Visual Components, KUKA.Sim, or RobotStudio.
• Expertise in industrial machine vision systems (e.g., Cognex) and ML-based inspection.
• Proficiency in AutoCAD Electrical or EPLAN.

Culture & Benefits

• Comprehensive health benefits including medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• 401(k) with company match up to 5%.
• Stock options for all regular employees.
• Generous paid time off (up to 4 weeks per year) and 14 company-paid holidays.
• Education Support Program.