Lead Satellite Thermal Engineer (LRU Owner)

Blue Origin LLC; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 157,000 - 220,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision insurance

Parental leave

401(k) with company match

Stock Options

Job summary

Blue Origin LLC in the Greater Seattle Area is seeking a Senior Satellite Thermal Engineer to own the thermal performance of one or more TeraWave LRUs from requirements through qualification and production release. You will define thermal interfaces and correlate detailed models to hardware data, ensuring robust, manufacturable solutions for spaceflight.

You will perform transient and steady-state analyses, drive design trades (radiators, heat pipes, cold plates), and collaborate with

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related field.
• 8+ years of hands-on experience in spacecraft thermal engineering or thermal control systems development.
• Proficiency with thermal modeling software (Thermal Desktop, SINDA/FLUINT, Ansys Icepak) with model correlation to hardware test data.
• Experience with spaceborne thermal design, including vacuum environments, radiation heat transfer, and flight hardware qualification.
• Hands-on experience with spacecraft thermal testing, including thermal vacuum test setup, execution, data review, and model-to-test correlation.
• Must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident or lawfully admitted into the U.S.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the thermal Responsible Engineer for one or more TeraWave LRUs, owning thermal performance from requirements through qualification and production release.
• Define LRU-level thermal requirements and thermal interface definitions in coordination with systems and mechanical engineering.
• Develop detailed thermal models of your assigned LRU using Thermal Desktop, SINDA/FLUINT, or equivalent tools; correlate to hardware test data.
• Perform transient and steady-state thermal analyses to validate LRU performance under mission profiles and environmental conditions.
• Drive LRU thermal design trades—radiator sizing, heat pipe routing, cold plate integration, TIM selection, heat spreader design.
• Collaborate with electronics, packaging, and mechanical teams to integrate thermal constraints early in the design.
• Develop thermal loads from first principles, literature, and test data; document and maintain inputs, models, and results.
• Support hardware development through thermal vacuum testing, model-to-test correlation, and anomaly resolution.

Skills

Thermal modeling

Thermal Desktop

SINDA/FLUINT

Ansys Icepak

Spacecraft thermal design

Model-to-test correlation

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or Aerospace Engineering

Tools

Thermal Desktop

SINDA/FLUINT

Ansys Icepak

Creo/NX/SolidWorks

Job description

Blue Origin LLC in the Greater Seattle Area is seeking a Senior Satellite Thermal Engineer to own the thermal performance of one or more TeraWave LRUs from requirements through qualification and production release. You will define thermal interfaces and correlate detailed models to hardware data, ensuring robust, manufacturable solutions for spaceflight.

You will perform transient and steady-state analyses, drive design trades (radiators, heat pipes, cold plates), and collaborate with