Senior Thermal Engineer

Position Summary Mainstream Engineering is looking for a Senior Thermal Engineer to develop advanced thermal management technologies for military, government, and commercial applications. This is an R&D-focused role for an engineer who enjoys solving difficult problems, working with hardware, and turning ideas into real products.

Our thermal engineers don't simply perform analysis and hand off their work. You can take an idea from concept to prototype to testing to production. You'll have the opportunity to identify new technologies, develop proposals around your ideas, design and build experimental hardware, perform testing, analyze results, interact directly with customers, and help transition successful technologies into production.

Our current work includes thermal systems for hypersonic vehicles, high-power laser systems, and power-dense aerospace platforms, with a focus on reducing size, weight, and power while improving system performance.

You'll have the opportunity to work with technologies including:

Microchannel cooling

Additively manufactured 3D cooling passages

Single-phase pumped fluid loops

Vapor compression and other refrigeration cycles

Radiation thermal management

Heat exchangers and electronics cold plates

Thermal energy storage

Oscillating heat pipes

Advanced experimental cooling techniques

Your creativity and curiosity can help determine what we investigate next.

What You'll DoLead thermal engineering projects from concept through prototype, testing, and production

Develop innovative thermal management solutions for challenging real-world applications

Perform analytical calculations involving heat transfer, thermodynamics, and fluid mechanics

Develop and evaluate computational models using CFD and FEA tools

Design, build, instrument, and test experimental hardware

Develop laboratory test plans and analyze experimental data

Work with temperature, pressure, flow, and other instrumentation and data acquisition systems

Collaborate directly with customers to understand requirements and develop solutions

Prepare technical proposals and develop new R&D concepts

Support design for manufacturability and transition of successful technologies into production

Research emerging thermal technologies and identify opportunities for new product development

What We're Looking For We're looking for engineers who are curious, creative, self-motivated, and excited by difficult technical problems.

Required:

Master's or PhD in Mechanical Engineering or Aerospace Engineering Minimum of a 3.3 for all completed degrees
10+ years of professional engineering experience

Strong understanding of heat transfer, thermodynamics, and fluid mechanics

Hands-on laboratory, prototype, or experimental testing experience

Experience developing thermal systems, components, or technologies

Ability to independently lead technical projects and solve complex engineering problemsU.S. Citizenship due to ITAR requirements

Preferred:

Experience with data acquisition systems;
LabVIEW experience is a plus

Experience with CFD and/or FEA; ANSYS/FLUENT experience is a plus Experience designing and testing thermal management systems

Experience working with aerospace, defense, or other high-performance systems

Experience taking R&D concepts through prototype development and into production

Why This Role Is Different You won't be limited to one piece of the engineering process.

At Mainstream Engineering, our engineers have the opportunity to research, design, build, test, analyze, present, and manufacture their ideas. If you see a better way to solve a problem, you have the opportunity to investigate it.

If you're the type of engineer who would rather build and test something than just talk about it, this could be a great fit.

Join a team where your technical curiosity can become the next technology we develop.

Mainstream Engineering Corporation is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified candidates will be considered without regard to legally protected characteristics.

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