Staff Engineer, Thermal - Air Vehicle

Location: On-site in Dallas, Texas or San Diego, California, United States

Salary: $140,000–$210,000 per year, plus bonus, benefits, and equity for regular full-time employees.

Company

hirify.global is a venture-backed defense technology company developing intelligent systems, including Hivemind autonomy software, V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, and simulation technologies.

What you will do

• Execute thermal analysis and characterization for unmanned aircraft and aircraft-level thermal systems.
• Develop and validate analytical, numerical, hand-calculation, finite-difference, and CFD models for heat transfer and fluid flow.
• Perform trade studies, define system architectures and requirements, and assess technical risks.
• Plan and oversee testing, instrumentation, data analysis, and correlation of models with experimental results.
• Identify thermal risks and influence aircraft thermal design, including hot exhaust gas management and aircraft-level thermal environments.
• Mentor cross-disciplinary engineering teams and communicate findings through design reviews and technical reports.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related discipline.
• At least 7 years of professional thermal engineering experience.
• Deep expertise in conduction, convection, radiation, fluid mechanics, and active and passive cooling solutions.
• Experience with aircraft thermal management, thermal analysis, and CFD tools such as FloEFD, STAR-CCM+, or Thermal Desktop.
• Proficiency with CAD tools such as NX or SolidWorks, plus strong first-principles problem-solving, communication, and leadership skills.
• Ability to obtain an S//SAR-level security clearance is desired; offers are contingent on a cleared background and possible reference check.

Nice to have

• Master’s degree in a relevant engineering discipline.
• Experience with high-altitude aircraft thermal management and aircraft integration constraints involving power, weight, volume, maintainability, and safety.
• Hands-on experience with thermal and fluid system testing, instrumentation, and validation.
• Knowledge of aerospace materials and manufacturing methods, trade studies, and multidisciplinary systems integration.

Culture & Benefits

• Full-time regular employees receive pay within the listed range, bonus, benefits, and equity.
• The role supports a mission focused on protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems.
• Work involves collaboration across multidisciplinary engineering teams and high standards for technical quality and teamwork.
• hirify.global is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer.