Spacecraft Thermal Engineer — Equity & Growth

Luke Johnson - Embedded Software, Firmware, Electronics; Sydney; On-site; AUD 100,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Equity (ESOP)

Annual leave

Public holidays

Job summary

Space Machines Company is seeking a Spacecraft Thermal Engineer in Sydney to develop and validate thermal models for spacecraft and subsystems. You will run analysis across orbital regimes, define cases, and translate results into practical design guidance aimed at robust thermal control.

You will collaborate with mechanical, electrical, and systems teams to support design reviews, testing campaigns, and tool development, leveraging first-principles calculations and industry-standard software.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or higher in Mechanical, Aerospace, Space Systems, or related engineering.
• 2+ years of experience in thermal analysis and/or thermal design.
• Hands-on experience with industry-standard thermal tools (Thermal Desktop, Systema/Thermica, ESATAN‑TMS or NX Space Systems Thermal).
• Ability to perform first-principles calculations and validate model results.
• Understanding of passive and active thermal control methods.

Responsibilities

• Develop, run, and maintain spacecraft thermal models.
• Define hot, cold, and edge cases that drive the design and correlate with test data.
• Support the design and sizing of active and passive thermal control solutions.
• Perform hand calculations and first-order analysis.
• Conduct thermal trade-off studies balancing performance, mass, power, cost, manufacturability, and requirements.
• Support thermal testing and validation activities and correlate analysis with test results.
• Prepare thermal analysis reports, design notes, and review materials.
• Work with multidisciplinary teams to resolve thermal issues and support system decisions.
• Develop and improve thermal analysis tools, models, databases, and workflows.
• Contribute to continuous improvement of engineering methods and processes.

Skills

Thermal analysis

Python for analysis

Multidisciplinary teamwork

First principles

Education

Bachelor's in Mechanical/Aerospace/Space Systems

Tools

Thermal Desktop

Systema/Thermica

ESATAN‑TMS

NX Space Systems Thermal

Job description

Space Machines Company is seeking a Spacecraft Thermal Engineer in Sydney to develop and validate thermal models for spacecraft and subsystems. You will run analysis across orbital regimes, define cases, and translate results into practical design guidance aimed at robust thermal control.

You will collaborate with mechanical, electrical, and systems teams to support design reviews, testing campaigns, and tool development, leveraging first-principles calculations and industry-standard software.