Sr. Thermal Analyst

At Blue Origin, we envision millions of people living and working in space for the benefit of Earth. We’re working to develop reusable, safe, and low-cost space vehicles and systems within a culture of safety, collaboration, and inclusion. Join our team of problem solvers as we add new chapters to the history of spaceflight!

This role supports the development and operations of New Glenn, a single-configuration, heavy-lift orbital launch vehicle capable of routinely carrying people and payloads to low-Earth orbit, geostationary transfer orbit, cislunar, and beyond. Its first stage is fully reusable, and the vehicle was designed from the beginning to be human-capable.

About the role

As a Senior Thermal Analyst within the Reusable Vehicles and Technologies team, you will be at the forefront of ensuring the thermal integrity of New Glenn's most critical systems — from thermal protection systems (TPS) to vehicle components that must survive the extreme environments of launch, ascent, reentry, and recovery.

Responsibilities

• Perform detailed thermal analysis of Thermal Protection System (TPS) components, including design trade studies, sizing, and verification across all operational phases — ground, ascent, reentry, and recovery.
• Conduct thermal analysis of critical vehicle systems, subsystems, and components including umbilicals, tank domes, aft skirts, and metal engine eyeball seals, spanning cryogenic to high-temperature environments.
• Develop, maintain, and validate Thermal Desktop and ANSYS thermal models for component- and vehicle-level analysis.
• Lead and support thermal design reviews, analysis reviews, and verification activities throughout the product lifecycle.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with structures, propulsion, materials, manufacturing, and test teams to ensure thermal designs meet performance and safety requirements.
• Develop and execute thermal test plans; correlate analytical models to test data and flight data.
• Author and review thermal databook, engineering reports, analysis memos, and technical documentation in support of drawing releases and design certification.
• Identify and drive resolution of thermal design risks and anomalies, providing clear technical recommendations to program leadership.
• Contribute to the continuous improvement of thermal analysis processes, tools, and best practices within the team.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a closely related technical discipline.
• 5+ years of experience in thermal analysis within aerospace, launch vehicle, or spacecraft development programs.
• Demonstrated proficiency with ANSYS (Mechanical, Fluent, or equivalent) for thermal and coupled thermal-structural analysis.
• Experience conducting thermal analysis of TPS components and/or vehicle structural components in extreme thermal environments (cryogenic through high-heat reentry conditions).
• Strong understanding of heat transfer fundamentals: conduction, convection, radiation, and phase change.
• Knowledge of the analogy between heat and mass transfer, with the ability to adapt heat transfer correlations to mass and fluid transport calculations.
• Experience developing and documenting thermal analysis in support of design certification and qualification testing.
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, collaborative, and cross-functional engineering environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Chemical Engineering or a related field.
• Experience with thermal analysis of reusable launch vehicle systems, including reentry TPS, cryogenic propellant systems, or engine interface components.
• Familiarity with ablative, ceramic tile, or flexible insulation TPS materials and their thermal performance characteristics.
• Experience with model correlation to test data and flight data, including uncertainty quantification.
• Proficiency with scripting or programming languages (Python, MATLAB) for analysis automation and data processing.
• Experience with 3D CAD tools (e.g., CREO, NX) for geometry import and thermal model development.
• Familiarity with CFD-derived aerothermal environments as inputs to thermal models.
• Demonstrated proficiency with Thermal Desktop for thermal modeling and analysis.
• Knowledge of AI/ML techniques applied to engineering analysis, such as surrogate modeling, design space exploration, or predictive thermal modeling.
• Experience supporting launch site operations or flight readiness reviews.

Pay

Base Pay Range for WA applicants is $145,188.00 - $203,263.20. Other site ranges may differ.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, vision, basic and supplemental life insurance.
• Paid parental leave, short and long-term disability.
• 401(k) with a company match of up to 5%.
• Education Support Program.
• Stock options for all regular employees (working at least 20 hours/week).
• Paid Time Off: Up to four (4) weeks per year based on weekly scheduled hours, and up to 14 company-paid holidays.
• Dependent on role type and job level, employees may be eligible for benefits and bonuses based on the company's intent to reward individual contributions and enable them to share in the company's results, or other factors at the company's sole discretion.

Bonus amounts and eligibility are not guaranteed and subject to change and cancellation. Please check with your recruiter for more details.

Applicants for employment at Blue Origin must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (i.e. current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum.