Principal Mechanisms Engineer - Payloads (Aerospace)

Location: On-site in El Segundo, California, United States. Employees must be authorized to work in the U.S. and qualify as a U.S. person under ITAR requirements.

Salary: $180,000–$230,000 per year, plus potential stock options and/or long-term cash awards.

Company

hirify.global develops commercial space infrastructure, including in-orbit pharmaceutical processing payloads, reentry capsules, heat shields, and satellite buses.

What you will do

• Define architectures, requirements, and development plans for multi-payload and multi-mission systems.
• Lead complex mechanism and electromechanical subsystem design efforts.
• Perform system-level analyses, trade studies, and risk-reduction activities using hand calculations, Python/MATLAB models, and FEA.
• Lead cross-functional teams across avionics, software, thermal, systems, and integration.
• Drive subsystem requirements, interface control documents, verification plans, build, integration, testing, mission operations, recovery, and anomaly resolution.
• Represent the organization to senior leadership and external partners while mentoring engineers and shaping payload development practices.

Requirements

• BS/BEng in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Mechatronics, or a related field.
• 7+ years of experience designing, integrating, testing, and troubleshooting electromechanical hardware.
• Deep mechanical expertise with breadth in at least two adjacent disciplines, such as avionics, software, thermal, optics, or testing.
• Experience leading teams through the full development cycle of electromechanical space flight hardware.
• Experience communicating with diverse technical and executive audiences, internally and externally.
• Must be authorized to work in the United States and qualify as a U.S. person for access to export-controlled technology.

Nice to have

• 3+ years of cross-functional project leadership experience.
• Experience planning and executing aerospace environmental testing, including vibration, TVAC, and EMI/EMC.
• Experience leading government-facing technical programs.
• Active Secret or Top Secret clearance.

Culture & Benefits

• Flexible PTO and 12 paid holidays.
• Company-paid medical, dental, and vision insurance, with FSA and employer-matched HSA options.
• Parental leave, family-building support, wellness reimbursement, and sponsored One Medical memberships.
• 401(k) plan with a 6% immediately vested employer match and incentive equity.
• Relocation support for new hires, when needed.
• Daily lunch, twice-weekly dinner, team events, and complimentary EV charging.