Principal Launch Vehicle Design Engineer II (Aerospace)

Location: El Segundo, California, United States; on-site. Applicants must be U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, conditional residents, asylees, refugees, or eligible to obtain the required U.S. export authorizations.

Salary: $148,500–$199,000 per year

Company

hirify.global develops communication systems for satellites, UAVs, launch vehicles, and other space and airborne platforms.

What you will do

• Lead the design, analysis, and development of primary and secondary launch vehicle structures, stage interfaces, and payload accommodations.
• Perform static, transient structural, and thermal analyses of launch vehicle components and systems.
• Develop and execute test programs, analyze experimental data, and optimize designs.
• Prepare CAD models for finite element analysis and manufacturing.
• Create technical reports, specifications, and contributions to preliminary and critical design reviews.
• Collaborate across mechanical, aerospace, and controls engineering teams, support mission operations and anomaly investigations, and mentor engineers.

Requirements

• Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field.
• 11+ years of industry experience in aerospace design and analysis.
• Expertise with Ansys Mechanical, Explicit Dynamics (LS-Dyna), buckling, harmonic response, and random vibration analysis.
• Proficiency in MATLAB and CAD tools including SolidWorks or NX.
• Strong knowledge of systems engineering, requirements flowdown, integration, hardware development, testing, and qualification.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, written, and verbal communication skills.

Nice to have

• Experience with cryogenic systems, liquid rocket systems, and launch vehicle components.
• Hands-on experience designing and improving launch vehicle hardware.
• Knowledge of aerospace manufacturing processes and safety and reliability practices.
• Experience in a startup or rapid development environment.

Culture & Benefits

• Hands-on, interactive, and autonomous work in a dynamic, cross-functional startup environment.
• Collaboration with an international R&D team.
• Full-time employment with company stock options.
• Health, dental, vision, HSA, FSA, life, disability, and retirement benefits.