Principal Thermal Design Engineer
$175,000–$295,000 year
On-siteLos Angeles, California, United States
Job Summary
Collaborate with Mechanical, Avionics, and GNC teams to develop passive and active thermal control hardware and define in-orbit operational cases. Run thermal analysis at component and spacecraft levels using Thermal Desktop, Ansys, and Python for automation. Develop and maintain thermal models for spacecraft and sub-components while automating data analysis to support architectural trades. Set up and execute thermal testing ranging from development to qualification, correlating results with predictions. This role supports K2's mass-production of high-power satellite platforms for missions from LEO to deep space, requiring 8+ years of satellite thermal design experience.
Required Qualifications
- 8+ years of experience with satellite thermal design and analysis
- Demonstrated experience with radiative and conductive thermal modeling of spacecraft systems using Thermal Desktop
- Experience with selection, sizing, and design of thermal control hardware including heat pipes, heaters, stickers, OSR, thermal straps, thermal paints, tapes, MLI, TEC
- Experience with thermal cycling and thermal vacuum testing including predictions, setup, instrumentation and thermal model correlation
- Familiarity with SMC-S016 standard or equivalent
- Experience with Python, C/C++, or Matlab for thermal modeling and automated data analysis
Desired Qualifications
- Hands-on experience with thermal testing for spacecraft components such as thermal cycling and TVAC
- Experience with full-vehicle thermal vacuum testing and model correlation
- Experience with spacecraft thermal design optimized for cost, reliability, performance and manufacturability
- Experience with integrated thermal analysis of spacecraft and rocket
- Experience with solar panel thermal modeling
- Experience with electrical PCBA thermal modeling and thermal interface materials (thermal grease, gap pads, etc.)
- Experience with spacecraft primary radiator design and analysis
Hiring someone like this?
Get your role in front of qualified candidates on Sorce.