Principal Mechanical Engineer, Tooling (Aerospace)

Location: Long Beach, California, United States

Salary: $185,000–$277,000 USD annually

Company

hirify.global develops and manufactures rockets, including the Terran R launch vehicle, to expand commercial access to orbit.

What you will do

• Develop production tooling and factory automation solutions for Terran vehicles and Aeon engine programs.
• Integrate mechanical design and analysis across projects of varying size and complexity.
• Create tooling drawing definitions using sound design and drafting standards, including ASME Y14.5.
• Design material-handling systems, assembly fixtures, off-loaders, rotisseries, test fixtures, structural weldments, environmental chambers, and custom machines.
• Collaborate with component designers, manufacturing engineers, and integration engineering to optimize safety, cost, quality, cycle time, delivery, reliability, and maintenance.
• Manage tooling projects from vendor selection and fabrication through inspection, installation, and commissioning.

Requirements

• Bachelor of Science degree in manufacturing engineering, mechanical engineering, or an equivalent field.
• 15+ years of experience designing, building, and commissioning tooling and fixtures for manufacturing, assembly, and testing.
• Experience with CAD and FEA-based structural analysis software; NX and ANSYS Workbench are preferred.
• Experience completing projects through the full development and delivery cycle.
• Experience with strategic tooling buildout and project management supporting production.

Nice to have

• Expertise in design for manufacturability and design for assembly, including transitioning products from prototypes to production.
• Knowledge of manufacturing materials, GD&T, and tolerance stack-up analysis.
• Knowledge of manufacturing processes and equipment such as milling, turning, welding, sheet-metal bending, lifting and rigging, assembly, and inspection.
• Experience designing custom machines using motors, actuators, linear rails, pneumatics, and bearings.

Culture & Benefits

• Work at the intersection of design, manufacturing, and factory automation.
• Autonomy, ownership, and cross-functional collaboration across engineering and manufacturing teams.
• Competitive salary and equity.
• Generous paid time off and sick leave, parental leave, and an annual learning and development stipend.