Mechanical Engineer, Thermal Design

Duties & Responsibilities

• Lead the design and development of thermal management solutions for optical space payloads, payload components, payload subassemblies, and orbital satellite systems.
• Plan and perform thermal analysis, modeling, and simulation (e.g., using SINDA/FLUINT and Thermal Desktop) to support design trades, requirements verification, and performance assessments.
• Lead elements of the assembly, integration, and test (AI&T) process for payload thermal hardware, including procedure development, test setup definition, execution oversight, and data analysis.
• Own the development and review of thermal subsystem requirements, allocations, design documentation, integration plans, and test procedures, and ensure traceability to system-level requirements.
• Plan and execute environmental test campaigns (e.g., thermal vacuum, thermal cycling), including test planning, test readiness and execution, and correlation of models to test results.
• Prepare technical documentation, including analysis reports, design review materials, and test reports, for internal meetings and program milestone reviews.
• Present relevant materials to sponsors and other external organizations.
• Identify, troubleshoot, and resolve design, workmanship, and performance issues related to space vehicle and payload thermal control subsystems.
• Maintain the strict confidentiality of sensitive information.

Job Qualifications

• Typically requires a bachelors degree, masters degree or PhD in engineering or a related technical discipline from an accredited institution and progressive engineering experience as follows; six or more years of experience with a bachelors degree, four or more years of experience with a masters degree, or two or more years with a PhD.
• May substitute equivalent engineering experience in lieu of education.
• Proficiency with thermal analysis tools such as SINDA/FLUINT and Thermal Desktop is highly desirable; experience with other thermal or finite element tools is a plus.
• Significant experience with the thermal design and analysis of space payloads or other complex electro-mechanical systems; direct EO/IR space payload experience performing STOP analysis is a plus.
• Hands-on experience leading or owning the assembly, integration, and test (AI&T) of hardware, preferably including thermal control hardware (e.g., radiators, thermal straps, heaters, MLI, thermal interfaces).
• Familiarity with CAD tools (e.g., SOLIDWORKS, CREO, or NX) and basic scripting/programming (e.g., Python, MATLAB, or FORTRAN) is desired.
• Direct experience with thermal vacuum (TVAC), thermal cycling, or other environmental test programs, including test planning, execution, and data analysis; experience correlating thermal models to test data is strongly preferred.
• Proven ability to apply engineering principles and perform thermal calculations, including hand calculations to support and cross-check numerical models.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to clearly present technical information to audiences with varying technical backgrounds.
• Demonstrated ability to independently organize and prioritize tasks, lead technical work packages, and meet established deadlines or milestones in a team environment.
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a DoD Security Clearance.
• U.S. citizenship is required.