Senior Thermal Engineer, Mission Electronics

Senior Thermal Engineer

Anduril Industries is a defense technology company with a mission to transform U.S. and allied military capabilities with advanced technology. By bringing the expertise, technology, and business model of the 21st century's most innovative companies to the defense industry, Anduril is changing how military systems are designed, built and sold. Anduril's family of systems is powered by Lattice OS, an AI-powered operating system that turns thousands of data streams into a realtime, 3D command and control center.

As the world enters an era of strategic competition, Anduril is committed to bringing cutting-edge autonomy, AI, computer vision, sensor fusion, and networking technology to the military in months, not years.

We are looking for a Senior Thermal Engineer to work in Costa Mesa, CA, focused on the thermal design of electronic assemblies. You will own the thermal architecture of these across products spanning air vehicles (fixed wing & rotorcraft), maritime and ground systems, and wearables/body-worn devices, and you will bring an in-depth understanding of heat transfer and fluid dynamics to bear on hardware that must survive real operational environments.

Own the thermal design and analysis of electronics—from board and component level up through enclosures and full assemblies—for products across air vehicles, maritime and ground systems, and wearables/body-worn devices.

Use first principles as the basis for every decision and discern the right level of analysis to apply. Execute hand calculations, spreadsheets, and MATLAB/Python first-order models to inform the path forward before jumping into detailed design.

Define thermal architecture and heat-rejection paths—conduction, natural and forced convection, cold plates, heat sinks, heat pipes, thermal interface materials, and coatings—to keep components within junction and touch-temperature limits across demanding environments.

Establish hot, cold, and edge-case operating conditions for each platform based on industry standards and intended use, accounting for altitude and flight envelopes on air vehicles, salt fog and humidity in maritime environments, solar load and enclosed cabinets on ground systems, and human-contact and comfort limits on wearables.

Work with electrical, mechanical, and systems engineers to characterize and document component power dissipation under different operating modes.

Communicate the pros and cons of system and packaging architectures with respect to thermal considerations, and drive trade studies that balance thermal margin against size, weight, and power.

Own the thermal FEA/CFD models and predict system performance. Define red/yellow design limits for test and operation.

Define and execute prototype builds and tests to verify thermal designs (do CAD, select sensors and DAQ equipment, post-process data, summarize results, etc.).

Present thermal status at formal reviews internally and with customers. Provide a clear understanding of timelines and technical status.

Develop internal tools to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of analysis.

Support failure reviews and root-cause analysis with test data and thermal analysis.

MS or higher degree in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, applied physics, or a related field with a focus on heat transfer and fluid dynamics (BS with additional experience considered)

In-depth understanding of heat transfer and fluid dynamics

5+ years of experience designing thermal solutions for electronics or integrated hardware products

Practical experience with electronics cooling and packaging—component and board-level thermal management, TIMs, heat sinks, heat pipes, cold plates, and enclosure heat rejection

Practical experience designing both passive and active thermal management systems

Thermal testing experience—sensor selection, data acquisition, and data post-processing

Thermal FEA/CFD experience—STAR-CCM+, ANSYS, Icepak, or FloEFD

CAD experience with Siemens NX or Solid Works

Passion for defending the United States and her allies

Be able to obtain and hold a U.S. Top Secret security clearance