Ground Support Equipment Engineer - Automation & Controls (Aerospace)

Location: On-site in El Segundo, California, United States

Salary: $109,000–$153,000 annually, plus potential stock options and/or long-term cash awards.

Company

hirify.global develops commercial space infrastructure, including in-orbit pharmaceutical processing systems, reentry capsules, heat shields, satellite buses, and associated production and test equipment.

What you will do

• Design, build, maintain, and commission ground support equipment and test systems for flight hardware qualification and manufacturing.
• Integrate thermal vacuum chambers, ovens, chillers, pressure systems, data acquisition hardware, and precision instrumentation.
• Develop hirify.global’s internal PLC framework and EtherCAT tooling, including support for evolving spacecraft and propulsion programs.
• Evaluate real-time control architectures using PLC-based TwinCAT 3 and Linux-based approaches.
• Design electrical systems, build cabinets, wire panels, debug hardware, and own systems from design through commissioning.
• Collaborate with propulsion, avionics, GNC, and manufacturing teams while establishing maintainable engineering standards.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field.
• At least 2 years of industry experience in test automation, controls, and/or industrial automation.
• Hands-on experience with industrial communication protocols such as EtherCAT, Modbus TCP/RTU, or RS-232/485.
• Experience with a modern PLC ecosystem, preferably Beckhoff TwinCAT 3 and structured text under IEC 61131-3.
• Ability to work across control software, electrical panel design, cabinet wiring, hardware integration, and debugging.
• Must work on-site in El Segundo and be authorized to work in the United States as a U.S. person due to ITAR-controlled technology access.

Nice to have

• Advanced EtherCAT, TwinCAT 3, deterministic real-time control, or custom control framework experience.
• Experience with Python orchestration, Grafana, InfluxDB, or other time-series data acquisition and visualization tools.
• Aerospace, spacecraft testing, ground support equipment, environmental testing, or propulsion test stand experience.
• Experience with high-pressure gas or fluid systems, safety-related controls, and qualification documentation.

Culture & Benefits

• Full-time employment with flexible PTO and 12 paid holidays.
• Company-paid medical, dental, and vision insurance, with FSA and employer-matched HSA options.
• Parental, family-building, pregnancy, parenting, menopause, and disability benefits.
• 401(k) plan with a 6% immediately vested employer match, equity incentives, and a cell phone reimbursement.
• Relocation support may be available for new hires.
• Daily lunch, twice-weekly dinner, wellness reimbursement, EV charging, and company and team events.