Optical Payload Engineer (Aerospace)

Location: Golden, Colorado, United States. Access to export-controlled technology restricts the position to U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and protected individuals unless required licenses are obtained.

Salary: $150,000–$180,000 annually, subject to local market conditions and skills and experience.

Company

hirify.global develops weather intelligence and climate resilience solutions using proprietary satellite technology, AI forecasting models, and actionable analytics.

What you will do

• Support the development, integration, verification, and performance assessment of optical payloads for weather observation satellites.
• Translate mission and scientific objectives into payload requirements, interfaces, performance budgets, and verification plans.
• Perform optical and imaging analyses covering radiometry, signal-to-noise ratio, detector performance, image quality, and MTF.
• Support the design, characterization, calibration, and validation of imaging sensors, detectors, optical assemblies, and electro-optical subsystems.
• Assess the effects of stray light, thermal gradients, structural stability, vibration, jitter, and spacecraft interfaces on payload performance.
• Collaborate across payload, spacecraft, software, systems, and science teams from design and integration through launch, commissioning, and on-orbit operations.

Requirements

• 4–7+ years of hands-on engineering experience with EO/IR systems, imaging, optical payloads, airborne sensing, or comparable electro-optical hardware.
• Strong knowledge of imaging-system performance, detector behavior, radiometry, signal-to-noise ratio, MTF, image-quality concepts, and performance budgets.
• Experience with imaging sensors, detectors, optical assemblies, focal plane systems, or electro-optical hardware.
• Experience supporting hardware/software integration and testing, including optical alignment, radiometric calibration, environmental testing, or payload test-data analysis.
• Understanding of spacecraft-level effects such as thermal distortion, radiation, vibration, jitter, structural stability, and platform-generated disturbances.
• Must be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or protected individual, unless the required export-control licenses are obtained.

Nice to have

• Experience with environmental qualification for spacecraft, aerospace, or similarly demanding engineered systems.
• Exposure to optical alignment, radiometric calibration, environmental testing, or payload test-data analysis.
• Interest in taking increasing ownership of complex space payloads and mission performance.

Culture & Benefits

• Work on real space hardware supporting weather forecasting and climate resilience.
• Collaborate across optical engineering, imaging, spacecraft engineering, atmospheric science, and mission operations.
• Flexible hours and an unlimited vacation policy.
• Comprehensive health benefits and potential relocation assistance for certain roles.
• Environment emphasizing technical rigor, accountability, transparency, collaboration, inclusion, and career growth.