Principal Mechanical Engineer (Aerospace)

Location: Torrance, California; facility move to Hawthorne, California planned for summer. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or U.S. permanent residents.

Compensation: $200,000–$230,000 base salary plus equity.

Company

hirify.global develops modular motion-control components for industrial, aerospace, and defense applications.

What you will do

• Translate ambiguous mission needs into functional and operational requirements for spacecraft structures, docking and release mechanisms, robotic arms, and military ground-support hardware.
• Design precision electromagnetic actuators and mechanisms incorporating gears, bearings, lead screws, brakes, and encoders.
• Develop ruggedized avionics enclosures with thermal-management and structural-survivability solutions for high-vibration and vacuum environments.
• Design qualification test equipment and methodologies and lead hardware testing against DO-160 and MIL-STD-810 standards.
• Guide multidisciplinary integration, author test plans, procedures, proposals, and program documentation, and support suppliers with manufacturing deviations and quality issues.
• Assemble, bring up, debug, and qualify hardware prototypes through a hands-on design-build-test workflow.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• 10+ years of full product-lifecycle experience, from ideation and prototyping through flight-qualified production hardware.
• Strong understanding of electromagnetic principles, mechanical load paths, load cases, actuator sizing, strength, fatigue, and lifecycle analysis.
• Advanced experience with SolidWorks or equivalent 3D CAD tools, complex assemblies, PDM/MBD workflows, and configuration management.
• Fluency in ASME Y14.5 GD&T, 2D drawing creation, DFM collaboration, and supplier technical coordination.
• U.S. citizenship or U.S. permanent residency is required for customer and regulatory compliance.

Nice to have

• Experience with JPL, NASA, or DoD programs; robotic systems; kinematic mechanisms; and FEA/CFD tools.
• Experience designing custom test equipment, including ground-support equipment, and executing formal qualification campaigns.
• Knowledge of AGMA standards, gearbox analysis, precision fabrication, injection molding, and machine-shop processes.
• Experience in aerospace/DoD programs and lean R&D environments involving optomechanics, robotics, animatronics, or special-purpose machinery.

Culture & Benefits

• High autonomy and a lean operating model focused on impact.
• Medical insurance fully covered by the company.
• Life insurance equal to twice the salary, fully covered by the company.
• Flexible PTO, 401(k), financial wellness resources, and equity.
• Well-funded company already generating revenue.