VP Vehicle Engineering (Aerospace)

Location: Playa Vista, California; in-person five days per week

Salary: $275,000–$325,000 per year, plus performance-based bonuses and equity.

Company

hirify.global is an orbital logistics company developing reusable Earth-return vehicles for in-space manufacturing, on-orbit warehousing, global delivery, defense, commercial cargo, research, and critical aid.

What you will do

• Own the vision, execution, schedule, technical performance, and budget for the CarryAll orbital return vehicle and Airdrop atmospheric precision delivery system.
• Make architectural, scope, risk, schedule, and make-or-buy decisions across the vehicle portfolio.
• Hire, develop, and manage engineering leaders across all vehicle disciplines while setting standards for technical excellence and ownership.
• Own architecture implementation, interface control, performance envelopes, design margins, flight-readiness criteria, and major design and readiness reviews.
• Oversee test planning, execution, material review, failure reporting, corrective action, and anomaly resolution.
• Establish DFM, quality management, configuration management, acceptance criteria, supplier strategy, and production processes for LRIP and fleet-scale manufacturing.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Aerospace, Mechanical, Electrical, or Systems Engineering.
• 10+ years of experience spanning the full life cycle of space vehicle or spacecraft development.
• Technical authority on a complete vehicle program from architecture through flight and anomaly resolution.
• Experience building and scaling multidisciplinary engineering organizations of 50+ people through Directors and Principal individual contributors.
• System-level expertise across mass, power, GNC, structural loads, and thermal environments.
• Experience bridging R&D and manufacturing, including DFM, travelers, and acceptance criteria.

Nice to have

• Reentry vehicles, hypersonics, precision aerial delivery, or autonomous recovery systems experience.
• FAR/DFARS, OTA, or NASA safety and mission assurance knowledge.
• Venture-backed or rapid-growth aerospace experience.
• Active U.S. Government Security Clearance; not required but beneficial.

Culture & Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage, with base-tier medical insurance and all vision and dental premiums covered.
• Short- and long-term disability coverage, life insurance, paid time off, and nine paid holidays.
• 401(k) with company match, annual performance-based bonuses, and meaningful equity.
• Daily DoorDash lunch stipend, unlimited snacks, coffee, and tea.
• Pet-friendly office with monthly company happy hours and events.