Thermal Engineer
Listed on 2026-09-25
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Engineering
Aerospace / Aviation / Avionics, Systems Engineer, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineer
Staff Thermal Engineer - Spacecraft Controls
Location:
Long Beach, CA
Salary:
Up to $265,000 Gross Per Annum + company equity + comprehensive benefits package
You’ll join a company developing next-generation space stations and space infrastructure using an incremental, hardware-rich, and low-cost approach.
The company is rapidly developing a multi-module space station to ensure a continuous human presence in space for America and its allies, enabling advanced microgravity research and manufacturing, and unlocking a new space economy for government, corporate, and private customers. Following the success of an early demonstration mission, the company became the first operational commercial space station company to fly and operate its own spacecraft, and its first full station module is expected to become the world’s first commercial space station when it launches, with additional modules to follow.
The company has also announced a related high-power satellite product line that leverages its space station components and flight heritage. Headquartered in Long Beach, California, with more than 1,000 employees and significant private capital investment, the company has built the facilities required to manufacture and operate America’s next space station. It plans to develop future habitats and systems for the Moon and Mars, dedicated space stations for government partners, and other crewed systems that will unlock the expanding long-term space economy.
About the Role:The company is seeking a Staff Thermal Engineer, reporting to the Senior Manager, Thermal Analysis, to support the development of the systems required for the design and build of human-rated space stations. This is a full-time, exempt position based in Long Beach, CA.
Day to day, you’ll:- Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Physics, or a related engineering discipline with a minimum of 10+ years of related professional work experience, or a Master’s degree in a related engineering discipline and 5+ years of experience.
- Develop thermal systems requirements.
- Perform thermal analysis to develop and optimize thermal control designs and provide solutions to a wide range of difficult problems.
- Coordinate and partner with other engineering disciplines.
- Document thermal analyses and designs.
- Review and approve drawings for thermal design hardware content.
- Report results of analyses and design specifics to internal management and external customers.
- Work with test engineering to plan and execute subsystem-level thermal tests, especially thermal vacuum chamber (TVAC) testing, as well as perform associated analyses.
- Provide feedback regarding the impacts of possible cost and/or schedule changes.
- Knowledge and understanding of the application of technical principles, theories, and concepts for developing active thermal control systems.
- Expert with the Thermal Desktop thermal analysis tool.
- Extensive experience with TVAC testing.
It's a bonus if you also bring spacecraft thermal design and integration experience, familiarity with tools such as FloCAD, Ansys (Mechanical/Fluent), SINDA/G, SINDA/FLUINT, TSS, FloEFD, StarCCM+, NX, CATIA, or CREO, experience with active and passive thermal control technologies (pumped fluid loops, heat pipes), or a full-lifecycle spacecraft/payload background from concept through operations.
This role requires access to information and items subject to U.S. export controls, and therefore requires “U.S. person” status — U.S. citizen, U.S. national, lawful permanent resident (green card holder), or asylee/refugee with such status granted (not pending) — or eligibility for deemed export licensing.
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