Propulsion Engineer (Aerospace)

Location: On-site in the San Francisco Bay Area

Company

hirify.global develops and operates full-size autonomous cargo aircraft, including the Heron seaplane and Egret STOL aircraft, designed to carry two tons of payload over more than a thousand nautical miles.

What you will do

• Lead propulsion development from engine assembly and bring-up through calibration and flight-readiness verification.
• Calibrate engines across the aviation operating envelope, including fueling, ignition, idle stability, transient response, knock, closed-loop control, and propeller-governor performance.
• Run break-in, performance mapping, endurance, and qualification tests on an instrumented engine test stand.
• Operate test instrumentation and data-acquisition systems to collect traceable data for validation and system improvements.
• Diagnose faults, close anomalies, and collaborate across disciplines to refine propulsion-system designs.
• Develop and document operating, inspection, maintenance, ground-test, and flight-test procedures.

Requirements

• Applied experience tuning standalone or aftermarket ECUs, including fuel and ignition mapping, idle and transient control, drive-by-wire, knock, and sensor or DTC strategy.
• Strong conceptual and hands-on knowledge of four-stroke piston engines and EFI piston-engine systems.
• Experience building or operating an instrumented engine test cell, dyno, or test stand with thrust or torque measurement, cooling and oil-system instrumentation, and DAQ.
• Working knowledge of aircraft propellers and constant-speed governor systems.
• Experience qualifying or validating engines through test-cell, ground, or flight testing.
• Strong diagnostic, setup, troubleshooting, controlled-assembly, FOD-prevention, tool-management, and shop-safety skills.

Nice to have

• Background in aviation, motorsports, engine swaps, or standalone-ECU applications.
• Practical knowledge of AvGas and MoGas and their effects on engine calibration.
• Experience validating propulsion systems through ground and flight testing.

Culture & Benefits

• Competitive salary and meaningful early-stage equity.
• Relocation support where applicable.
• Employee health benefit plans and a 6% retirement match.
• Flexible or unlimited PTO.
• Low-ego, collaborative workplace with free lunches, snacks, and stocked office refrigerators.
• Access to AI tools and subscriptions.