Sr. Spacecraft Thermal Engineer; Top Secret Clearance Required

Sr. Spacecraft Thermal Engineer (Top Secret Clearance Required)

We’re working to develop reusable, safe, and low-cost space vehicles and systems within a culture of safety, collaboration, and inclusion. Join our team of problem solvers as we add new chapters to the history of spaceflight!

• Drives the development of thermal systems including system architecture definition, thermal system modeling, component sizing, and design.
• Perform trade studies relating to selection of material and subsystem hardware.
• Perform hand calculations to screen concepts without detailed modeling and to sanity check finite element model results.
• Develop vehicle-level thermal models using SINDA/FLUINT with Thermal Desktop.
• Develop and maintain system analysis documentation.
• Perform steady state & transient thermal analysis of spacecraft thermal systems as well as tracking of system performance in ground ops, TVAC testing, launch, Earth orbit, and beyond Earth orbit environments.
• Provide thermal engineering leadership & support for the development of thermal vacuum (TVAC) test procedures, scripts and installation designs.
• Provide thermal engineering leadership & support for thermal hardware design, documentation (drawings and model‑based designs), procurement, planning, procedural & operations support of Spacecraft assembly, integration & test (AI&T) efforts.
• Support existing & development of thermal data analytics architecture (Git Lab or similar).

• Minimum of a B.S. degree in mechanical or aerospace engineering.
• Solid understanding of thermal physics fundamentals.
• 10+ years of relevant proven experience in design, analysis, and test of spacecraft thermal systems.
• Proficiency in thermal analysis, specifically in Thermal Desktop and SINDA/FLUINT, including model validation and test correlation.
• Must be a U.S. citizen or national and hold a US security clearance.
• Experience in design, analysis, and testing of spacecraft thermal systems.

• M.S. degree in mechanical or aerospace engineering.
• Lead the design, drawing release, fabrication and/or procurement, and installation of Multi‑Layer Insulation (MLI) blankets for LEO, GEO, and interplanetary spacecraft and spacecraft payloads.
• Hands‑on experience with spacecraft thermal hardware installation processes.
• Experience solving a variety of thermal problems demonstrating breadth in analysis application.
• Proficiency in one or more programming languages (e.g., Python, C/C++).
• Ability to perform trade studies relating to selection of material and subsystem hardware.
• Ability to perform hand calculations to screen concepts without detailed modeling and to sanity check finite element model results.
• Ability to develop vehicle‑level thermal models using SINDA/FLUINT with Thermal Desktop.
• Ability to provide thermal engineering support for the development of thermal vacuum (TVAC) test procedures, scripts and installation designs.
• Ability to provide thermal engineering support for thermal hardware design, documentation (drawings and model‑based designs), procurement, planning, procedural & operations support of Spacecraft assembly, integration & test (AI&T) efforts.
• Support existing & development of thermal data analytics architecture (Git Lab or similar).
• Depth of experience in one or more of the following areas:
  • Thermal Vacuum test planning and execution
  • Spacecraft/payload thermal analysis
  • Active or Passive Thermal Control Systems
  • Spacecraft Thermal hardware testing
  • Thermal hardware such as radiators, heaters, thermostats, pumps, valves, sensors, heat pipes, ablative materials, sublimators, and/or phase change materials
  • Thermal design of Mechanical Ground Support Equipment
  • Spacecraft Thermal system on‑orbit operations support

WA applicants: $ – $ per year.

Don’t meet all desired requirements? Studies have shown that some people are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single desired qualification. At Blue Origin, we are dedicated to building an authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every desired qualification, we encourage you to apply…