Thermal Engineer Senior; Level 3

Position: Thermal Engineer Senior (Level 3)
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* Description:

** Space and strategic defense systems operate in some of the most unforgiving environments imaginable  Success depends on precision - and thermal performance is often the difference between mission success and mission failure

At Lockheed Martin Space, we are redefining resilience and speed through our 21st Century Security® vision  We don't just build systems - we engineer survivability, performance, and reliability into every component  As a Level 3 Thermal Engineer, you will serve as a technical leader driving the thermal architecture of advanced missile systems from concept through qualification and production

This position supports spacecraft, missile, hypersonic, or other advanced aerospace platforms operating in extreme and highly dynamic environments

If you're looking for ownership, influence, and the opportunity to solve complex, high consequence engineering challenges - this role is built for you

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- ** What does this role look like?*
* As a member of the thermal engineering team, you will support high fidelity thermal analyses across missile components, subsystems, and fully integrated systems - including ground support equipment - throughout the entire lifecycle

Your impact will include:

-  Owning end to end thermal modeling strategy using tools such as NX, Simcenter, SINDA/Fluent, and Thermal Desktop

-  Developing preliminary hand calculations and reduced order models to inform early design trades before advancing to detailed simulations

-  Accounting for all relevant heating environments - conduction, convection, radiation  solar, Earth IR, albedo , aerodynamic heating, free molecular heating, and transient mission effects

-  Translating program requirements into actionable thermal design criteria and verification strategies

-  Driving thermal support for Thermal Vacuum  TVAC  and environmental testing, including instrumentation strategy and data correlation

-  Partnering across structures, materials, propulsion, manufacturing, and quality to develop producible, cost effective thermal solutions

-  Coordinating TPS design, material selection, and component level thermal integration

This is a highly collaborative, fast paced environment where your technical judgment and leadership will directly influence system level performance

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- ** Important Details*
* - Successful candidate will have 5  professional years of mechanical engineering experience within hypersonics or thermal

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* Basic Qualifications:

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* - Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related discipline

- 3  experience in thermal/thermofluids analysis  thermophysics, heat transfer, fluid mechanics, aerodynamics, etc  

- Experience using industry standard thermal analysis tools such as NX/Simcenter, Thermal Desktop, SINDA, ANSYS

- Strong mathematical, analytical, and problem solving skills grounded in mechanical engineering fundamentals

- Ability to obtain and maintain a Secret security clearance, thus US Citizenship is required

** Desired

Skills:

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* - Experience modeling complex missile or aerospace thermal environments in Finite Element Analysis  FEA  across full mission profiles

- Expertise in integrating transient and steady state data from cross functional teams into high fidelity models

- Experience coordinating with test teams to define instrumentation plans, conditioning approaches, and correlation strategies

- Proficiency performing 1D models and first principles calculations  bulk temperatures, backside temperatures, ablation, erosion, etc  

- Experience influencing material selection and TPS design from a thermal performance perspective

- Strong executive level communication skills with the ability to translate complex analysis into clear, actionable insights for both technical and non technical stakeholders

Space Flight Science

** Security Clearance Statement:
** This position requires a government security clearance, you must be a US Citizen for consideration

** Clearance Level:
** Secret

** Other Important Information You Should Know*
* ** Expression of Interest:
** By applying to this job, you are expressing interest in this position and could be considered for other career…