Senior Systems Engineer, EO/IR Payloads (Aerospace)

Location: Washington, D.C. or Northern Virginia, United States. The position requires access to export-controlled information and eligibility under U.S. Government export regulations.

Salary: $181,000–$208,000 per year, plus equity and benefits.

Company

hirify.global designs, builds, and operates LEO satellite constellations that deliver mission-critical Earth intelligence and remote-sensing data.

What you will do

• Conceptualize, analyze, demonstrate, and experiment with new EO/IR payload concepts and related technologies.
• Develop system and payload requirements, advanced simulations, models, technical analyses, and system budgets.
• Identify novel imaging modes and operational use cases for defense, intelligence, philanthropic, and commercial stakeholders.
• Lead or support early-stage R&D activities and proposals as Principal Investigator.
• Partner with Product, Applied Science, Payload Engineering, Mission Systems, and Business Development teams.
• Support customer discovery, capability demonstrations, technical proposals, white papers, and concept studies.

Requirements

• B.S., M.S., or Ph.D. in engineering, Physics, Optical Sciences, or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years of experience as a systems or instrument engineer with deep EO/IR payload engineering knowledge.
• Experience with infrared, multispectral, hyperspectral, or similar remote-sensing phenomenologies and related space missions.
• Experience with requirements development, simulation and modeling, detailed technical analysis, and software such as Python, Julia, or MATLAB.
• Strong communication, presentation, organization, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Ability to obtain a TS/SCI security clearance is required; active clearance is strongly preferred.

Nice to have

• Experience with early-stage business development, strategic capture, and customer discovery.
• Experience developing radiometric models or scene simulations for application feasibility and payload design trades.
• Hands-on experience with rapid prototyping, experimental payloads, or capability demonstrations.
• Familiarity with small-satellite remote-sensing architectures.

Culture & Benefits

• Full-time employment with equity compensation.
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• 401(k) retirement plan, disability insurance, and life insurance.
• Three weeks of paid vacation, 12 paid holidays, unlimited sick time, and paid parental leave.
• Commitment to diversity and equal employment opportunity.