Hypersonic TPS Engineer — High-Temp Thermal Design

Anduril Industries; Costa Mesa (CA); On-site; USD 129,000 - 171,000; Full time

Job summary

Anduril Industries is seeking a Thermal Engineer specializing in Thermal Protection Systems (TPS) to lead design, analysis, and validation for hypersonic and high-speed flight systems in extreme aerothermal environments.

The role requires deep expertise in aerothermal heating, ablation, and high-temperature heat transfer, combining hand calculations with CFD/FEA to guide fast, high-consequence decisions. Join a team delivering advanced defense technology with mission impact.

Qualifications

• MS or PhD in Aerospace or related field with aerothermodynamics focus.
• 2+ years in TPS design, aerothermal analysis, or high-temperature materials for aerospace/defense.
• Strong first-principles understanding of aerodynamic heating and material response.
• Experience with ablation/material response modeling tools (FIAT, CMA, TITAN).
• Ability to obtain and maintain U.S. Top Secret clearance.
• Experience supporting thermal design for hypersonic or reentry systems.

Responsibilities

• Own TPS design, material selection, and thermal analysis for hypersonic and high-speed flight vehicles.
• Perform aerothermal heating analysis using correlations, boundary layers, and CFD.
• Conduct ablation and material response modeling to predict TPS recession and margins.
• Evaluate TPS materials based on loads, mass, and manufacturability.
• Collaborate with aerodynamics, structures, propulsion, and systems engineers.
• Define and execute thermal/material characterization tests (arcjet, furnace, flight tests).
• Build thermal models from hand calculations to detailed CFD/FEA.
• Present TPS status and risks in design reviews and technical reviews.
• Support failure reviews using test data and first-principles reasoning.

Skills

TPS design

Aerothermal analysis

First-principles heat transfer

Material response modeling

Hypersonic flight experience

Security clearance

Education

MS or PhD in Aerospace Engineering

Tools

FIAT

CMA

TITAN

Job description

Anduril Industries is seeking a Thermal Engineer specializing in Thermal Protection Systems (TPS) to lead design, analysis, and validation for hypersonic and high-speed flight systems in extreme aerothermal environments.

The role requires deep expertise in aerothermal heating, ablation, and high-temperature heat transfer, combining hand calculations with CFD/FEA to guide fast, high-consequence decisions. Join a team delivering advanced defense technology with mission impact.