Spacecraft Thermal Engineer – Equity & Rapid Iteration

Space Machines Company; New South Wales; Hybrid; AUD 120,000 - 180,000; 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 to join our fast-growing team in NSW, Australia. You will work with the Thermal and Mission Systems Lead to analyse, design, and validate thermal control systems for Optimus Viper and related spacecraft, spanning from design to flight validation.

You will build thermal models, run analysis cases, and translate results into actionable design recommendations while supporting tests, reviews, and cross-disciplinary collaboration with

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or higher in Mechanical, Aerospace, Space Systems, or related engineering discipline.
• 2+ years delivering thermal analysis and design for space systems.
• Hands-on experience with industry-standard thermal tools.

Responsibilities

• Thermal Analysis - develop, run, and maintain thermal models (GMM/TMM) for spacecraft and subsystems.
• Thermal Design - assist sizing of active and passive thermal control solutions.
• Rapid Iteration - perform hand calculations and first-principles analysis for fast design cycles.
• Trade Studies & Recommendations - balance performance, mass, power, cost, and manufacturability.
• Test & Validation - support thermal testing from analysis to chamber campaigns.
• Documentation & Reviews - produce reports and verification evidence.
• Tools & Infrastructure - develop internal thermal tools and templates.

Skills

Builder mindset

Iterative approach

Collaboration

Ownership

Education

Bachelor's or higher 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 to join our fast-growing team in NSW, Australia. You will work with the Thermal and Mission Systems Lead to analyse, design, and validate thermal control systems for Optimus Viper and related spacecraft, spanning from design to flight validation.

You will build thermal models, run analysis cases, and translate results into actionable design recommendations while supporting tests, reviews, and cross-disciplinary collaboration with