Lead Operations Engineer (Space)

Location: On-site near Colorado Springs, CO or Denver, CO; U.S. citizenship and ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Top Secret security clearance required.

Salary: $150,000–$250,000 Colorado base salary, plus equity and benefits.

Company

hirify.global develops autonomous spacecraft, advanced payloads, mission software, and space-based interceptors for space superiority and defense missions.

What you will do

• Own Mission Operations deliverables across the satellite program lifecycle, from business development and proposals through CONOPS, AI&T, live operations, and disposal.
• Integrate GNC, flight software, FDIR, propulsion, thermal, ground systems, RF, avionics, and electrical engineering into a coherent mission design.
• Define and task the Operations team's work, build execution plans, and drive delivery.
• Lead and mentor a multidisciplinary team of approximately 4–5 engineers.
• Support systems-level AI&T, anomaly investigation, design reviews, and program milestones.
• Support launch, early-orbit, RPO, and other critical mission phases as needed.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in a STEM field; aerospace or astronautical engineering is preferred.
• Approximately 10+ years of space-industry experience or equivalent technical depth.
• Strong engineering fundamentals and technical depth across multiple spacecraft subsystems.
• Experience leading small, cross-functional engineering teams.
• U.S. citizenship and eligibility to obtain and maintain a U.S. Top Secret security clearance.
• Willingness to work on-site in Colorado Springs or Denver and support 24/7 mission operations, including nights, weekends, holidays, and on-call mission-critical events.

Nice to have

• Master's degree in a related discipline.
• Experience with missile defense, USSF or Intelligence Community missions, Space Domain Awareness, or orbital warfare.
• Experience across satellite program lifecycles, including CONOPS, AI&T, and live operations.
• Knowledge of GNC, flight software, relative navigation, rendezvous and proximity operations, and closed-loop tracking and maneuvering.
• Familiarity with Atlassian tools, programming languages, and basic scripting.

Culture & Benefits

• Health, dental, vision, and HRA/HSA options.
• Paid time off and paid holidays.
• 401(k) and parental leave.
• Equity compensation.
• Work supporting autonomous spacecraft and space defense capabilities.