Staff Mission COMSEC Engineer (Space Systems)

Location: Onsite in Denver, Colorado, or Long Beach, California. Occasional travel to government sites, launch facilities, or partner locations may be required.

Salary: $160,000–$265,000 base in Colorado; $170,000–$280,000 base in California.

Company

hirify.global develops autonomous spacecraft, advanced payloads, mission software, and space-based interceptors for U.S. and allied space security programs.

What you will do

• Lead the design, deployment, testing, and certification of cryptographic systems for space assets and ground command-and-control systems.
• Architect resilient and survivable cryptographic security solutions across satellite operations, ground segments, C2 systems, and mission planning platforms.
• Maintain documentation for controlled equipment and keying material in accordance with U.S. government regulations.
• Coordinate communication and command-link testing and validation with spacecraft, ground operations, and cross-functional engineering teams.
• Conduct risk assessments, define mitigation strategies, and remediate findings from STIGs, vulnerability scans, penetration tests, and SCA activities.
• Support system Authorization to Operate and compliance for classified systems handling information up to TS/SCI.

Requirements

• 10+ years of experience in security architecture or encryption engineering, including operational cryptographic system design and deployment.
• Active Top Secret clearance with SCI eligibility is required.
• DoD 8140 IAT Level III certification, such as CASP+, CISSP, CISA, or equivalent.
• Experience with TEMPEST requirements and processes for space systems and with NSA Type 1 cryptographic solutions.
• Familiarity with satellite operations, ground segments, and TT&C systems.
• Must be eligible under ITAR requirements as a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, protected individual, or person eligible to obtain required U.S. authorizations.

Nice to have

• Active TS/SCI clearance with polygraph.
• Experience securing C2, space, or other DoD mission systems.
• Experience supporting DoD or Intelligence Community customers through ATO, re-ATO, or continuous authorization.
• Familiarity with cross-domain solutions, data guards, zero trust architectures, or modern identity solutions for classified environments.

Culture & Benefits

• Mission-critical work supporting national security space operations.
• High autonomy and ownership in a fast-paced environment.
• Professional development through conferences, training, and security certifications.
• Health, dental, vision, HRA/HSA options, PTO, paid holidays, 401(k), parental leave, and equity.
• Possible on-call participation for security incident response and mission-critical system support.