Propulsion Thermal Analyst

Canada Rocket Company; Toronto; On-site; CAD 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Canada Rocket Company is recruiting a Propulsion Thermal Analyst to lead detailed thermal analyses for engine and stage fluid systems in a fast-moving, ground-up orbital vehicle program. The role requires applying first-order calculations and using SINDA, Thermal Desktop, ANSYS, or in-house codes to predict temperatures and heat transfer, guiding design decisions.

You will work across design, analysis, development, operation, and reuse scenarios, interfacing with propulsion, structures, and CFD

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in thermal analysis of aerospace vehicles or components
• Experience with cryogenic fluids
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, resource-constrained environment with rapid hardware development using iterative design-build-test cycles
• Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, or a related field

Responsibilities

• Perform thermal analysis of engine and stage fluid systems during static and flight operations, transients, and re-entry
• Build and run steady-state and transient thermal models using tools like Thermal Desktop/SINDA, ANSYS, or in-house codes to predict temperatures, heat fluxes, and thermal gradients
• Analyze regenerative, film, and radiation cooling schemes and size cooling channels to keep wall temperatures within material limits
• Couple thermal models with structural (thermal-stress), fluid (CFD), and combustion analyses to support integrated multidisciplinary assessments
• Characterize heat transfer in cryogenic propellant feed systems, including tank thermal management, boil-off, chill-down, and insulation performance
• Define and analyze thermal protection and conditioning requirements for engines, stage, lines, and valves
• Conduct trade studies and sensitivity analyses to drive design decisions on cooling, geometry, and operating conditions
• Identify thermal risks and failure modes, support anomaly investigations, and recommend design or operational mitigations

Skills

Thermal analysis

Cryogenic fluids

Fast-paced environment

Iterative design-build-test

Education

Bachelor’s degree in mechanical/aerospace engineering

Advanced degree in mechanical/aerospace engineering

Tools

NX CAD

Python

Job description

About this position

About Canada Rocket Company

Canada Rocket Company is developing Canada's first medium-lift launch vehicle.

We are a team of veterans from SpaceX, Blue Origin, Rocket Lab, ArianeGroup, Pangea Propulsion, Tesla, MDA, and more, bringing over a century of combined launch and space systems experience back to Canada.

Our mission is to provide reliable, independent access to space for Canada and its allies in a rapidly expanding global market.

Our approach is defined by pragmatic engineering:

• We utilize a single 725 kN engine that scales from light- to medium-lift via engine clustering
• We lean on simple, proven technologies to reach orbit faster, avoiding the pitfalls of complex or novel designs
• We test early and often, catching problems on the bench instead of at the pad

Backed by over $20M in funding secured within our first four months, including the largest all-Canadian seed round in the sector and an $8.3M Department of National Defence grant, we are moving with the speed and institutional backing required to meet Canada’s orbital launch needs.

About the role

We are looking for a Propulsion Thermal Analyst who is equally proficient in applying first order calculations as they are to running SINDA or developing their own analysis code. You will work across design, analysis, development, operation, and reuse scenarios in a fast-moving development environment. This is a highly technical role for someone who wants to be close to details, make consequential design decisions, and help establish the propulsion and stage fluids systems of an orbital launch vehicle program from the ground up.

What You Will Do

• Perform thermal analysis of engine and stage fluid systems during static and flight operations, transients, and re-entry
• Build and run steady-state and transient thermal models using tools like Thermal Desktop/SINDA, ANSYS, or in-house codes to predict temperatures, heat fluxes, and thermal gradients
• Analyze regenerative, film, and radiation cooling schemes and size cooling channels to keep wall temperatures within material limits
• Couple thermal models with structural (thermal-stress), fluid (CFD), and combustion analyses to support integrated multidisciplinary assessments
• Characterize heat transfer in cryogenic propellant feed systems, including tank thermal management, boil-off, chill-down, and insulation performance
• Define and analyze thermal protection and conditioning requirements for engines, stage, lines, and valves
• Conduct trade studies and sensitivity analyses to drive design decisions on cooling, geometry, and operating conditions
• Identify thermal risks and failure modes, support anomaly investigations, and recommend design or operational mitigations

Qualifications

Required

• 7+ years of experience with one or more of the following:
• Thermal analysis of aerospace vehicles and components
• Experience with cryogenic fluids
• Inclination toward a fast-paced, resource-constrained environment with rapid hardware development using iterative design-build-test cycles that are central to the engineering culture
• Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, or a related field

Preferred

• Supersonic, hypersonic, or re-entry heating analysis
• Fluid analysis proficiency
• Structural analysis proficiency
• Turbomachinery fluid analysis proficiencyExperience with liquid bipropellant rocket engines
• Experience with methane systems
• Exposure to complex fluid systems as well as understanding the behaviour of the mechanisms in those systems
• Functional proficiency in CAD (NX) and Python
• Advanced degree in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, or a related field