Spacecraft Thermal Engineer: Lead Thermal Controls

NewOrbit Space; Reading; Hybrid; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working (1 remote day per week)

Equity and competitive salary

Private health insurance with dental/眼

Job summary

NewOrbit Space in Reading seeks a skilled Thermal Engineer to own the spacecraft thermal management from concept to validation. You’ll run steady-state and transient analyses, design thermal control systems, and work with mechanical, propulsion, electronics, and mission planning teams to ensure reliable performance from launch through deorbit.

This hands-on role covers TVAC testing, hardware validation, and development of insulation, radiators, heaters, coatings, and sensors.

Qualifications

• Solid understanding of thermal engineering principles in spacecraft systems.
• Hands-on experience with thermal simulation tools such as Systema, Thermal Desktop, ESATAN, or equivalent.
• Experience with environmental and lab testing (TVAC, thermal cycling, AIT process validation).
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, iterative development environment.

Responsibilities

• Perform steady-state and transient thermal analysis of the spacecraft across all mission phases (TVAC testing, launch, orbit).
• Model and validate heat management strategies in vacuum, where conduction and radiation are dominant.
• Identify and manage worst-case scenarios in extreme thermal conditions (hot and cold), accounting for on-orbit environmental factors and internal power dissipation.
• Design and implement thermal control solutions such as multilayer insulation (MLI), radiators, heaters, thermo-optical coatings, thermistors, and thermal straps.
• Develop and support thermal vacuum (TVAC) test procedures, instrumentation setup, and post-test data analysis.
• Be hands on in hardware testing for validation of processes, instrumentation, and materials and components chosen for in house developments

Skills

Thermal engineering

Spacecraft thermal

Thermal analysis

Tools

Systema

Thermal Desktop

ESATAN

Job description

NewOrbit Space in Reading seeks a skilled Thermal Engineer to own the spacecraft thermal management from concept to validation. You’ll run steady-state and transient analyses, design thermal control systems, and work with mechanical, propulsion, electronics, and mission planning teams to ensure reliable performance from launch through deorbit.

This hands-on role covers TVAC testing, hardware validation, and development of insulation, radiators, heaters, coatings, and sensors.