Mid to Senior Spacecraft & Optical Payload Thermal Engineer

Job ID: 9758 | Date Posted: October, 12 2026

About the role

The Space Dynamics Laboratory (SDL) is seeking an experienced Engineer to develop, analyze, integrate, and verify thermal-control solutions for NASA and DoW small satellites and precision optical payloads, from low Earth orbit to planetary missions. The engineer will support concept and requirements development, thermal architecture trades, preliminary and critical design reviews (PDR/CDR), flight-hardware build and integration, thermal-vacuum (TVAC) testing, thermal-balance model correlation, payload calibration, and flight delivery. Depending on experience, the engineer may serve as a thermal or mechanical project technical lead and support proposals. SDL offers competitive salaries and a comprehensive benefits package. Visit our Benefits Page to learn more about