Spacecraft Thermal Engineer; II​/III

Join a team where your impact reaches beyond the stars! At Terran Orbital, you’re not just part of the system – you’re a vital force propelling our mission forward. As trailblazers in satellite manufacturing and aerospace innovation, we shatter boundaries daily to deliver groundbreaking solutions that power our nation’s defense and commercial missions. We are a unique, fast growing, and trusted team dedicated to swiftly and efficiently designing, building, launching, and operating state of the art satellites for advanced mission constellations.

If you’re driven by purpose, inspired by challenges, and ready to leave your mark on the universe, you’ll find a home and endless opportunities for growth here. Together, let’s redefine what is possible in orbit and beyond!

Reporting to the Thermal Engineering Manager, the Sr. Spacecraft Thermal Engineer will be involved in all aspects of a spacecraft's development, from concept through design reviews, verification, and operations. In addition to predictive and analytical work, the engineer may serve in team leadership roles or as a subject area expert.

• Work with a multidisciplinary team to reduce thermal risk by identifying the constraining elements of a thermal design and recommend mitigation strategies from the concept level to design, production, and operation.
• Work with spacecraft system engineers to translate spacecraft CONOPS (Concept of Operations) into representative thermal design scenarios.
• Develop thermal models of active and passive thermal designs using numerical solutions and hand calculations of spacecraft systems, subsystems, avionics, and mechanisms that predict temperature margins in a variety of thermal space environments.
• Participate in spacecraft build and testing campaigns related to the thermal design aspect of the spacecraft, including periods of off‑hours or on‑call work.
• Develop thermal verification test plans and support test activities, monitor and correlate test results to model predictions.
• Prepare technical documents and PowerPoint presentations to present the results of analysis and tests to managers, customers, and stakeholders.
• Support business development activities, including proposals, white papers, and requests for information.
• Develop tools to support concept trade studies and post‑processing analysis.
• Perform other duties as applicable to the thermal engineer role.

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical or aerospace engineering with a thermal focus or similar discipline.
• Minimum five (5) years of direct experience working on space applications.
• Experience leading teams and mentoring entry‑level engineers.
• Proficiency with Thermal Desktop is required.
• Understanding of the basic principles of radiation and conduction heat transfer in conjunction with space environment heating effects and parameters associated with spaceflight applications.
• Deep understanding of orbital mechanics and thermal design considerations with respect to MEO, LEO, GEO, and other orbits.
• Proven knowledge of spacecraft mission design and associated subsystems/architecture as related to thermal design.
• Strong knowledge of spacecraft thermal design management and surface treatments.
• Experience with process development for thermal analysis methods, testing methods, or model correlation.
• Knowledge of environmental requirements, engineering, thermal vacuum/ambient pressure testing, and hands‑on engineering project experience, including use of data acquisition systems.
• Comfortable working in a fast‑paced, start‑up environment with a strong desire to be a leader or key contributor on a small team.
• Highly responsible team player with a positive attitude and excellent communication and documentation skills.
• Experience with Solid Works or other CAD software.
• Experience developing detailed thermal and simplified thermal models for spacecraft systems, subsystems, and components.
• Proficiency with computational scripting languages (MATLAB, Python, Mathematica, etc.).
• U.S. citizenship with the ability to obtain and maintain DoD security clearance.