Principal Thermal Engineer

EVONA; Albuquerque (NM); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

EVONA is seeking a Principal Thermal Engineer to own thermal engineering across spacecraft and optical payloads. The role is senior and hands-on, covering architecture, modelling, hardware integration, TVAC testing and flight readiness.

You will lead thermal architectures, detailed analyses, model correlation and support high-power payloads while collaborating with mechanical and optical teams to maintain thermally robust systems.

Qualifications

• Significant spacecraft or aerospace thermal engineering experience.
• Strong thermal modelling and first-principles heat-transfer knowledge.
• Experience taking hardware through design, analysis, build, TVAC and qualification.
• Experience with Thermal Desktop/SINDA, ANSYS or equivalent.
• Understanding of radiation, conduction, thermal environments.
• Experience working closely with mechanical, optical, electrical, controls and systems teams.
• The technical judgement and ownership expected of a Principal-level engineer.
• Experience with precision optics, laser systems, STOP analysis, thermo-optical modelling or high-power payloads would be valuable.

Responsibilities

• Define spacecraft and payload thermal architectures and control strategies
• Perform detailed conductive and radiative thermal analysis
• Develop and correlate thermal models against hardware and test data
• Analyse thermal gradients, stability and distortion across precision optical systems
• Support high-power electronics, lasers, sensors and other thermally sensitive hardware
• Perform coupled thermal / structural / optical trades alongside mechanical and optical engineers
• Define heaters, insulation, coatings, thermal interfaces and passive/active thermal solutions
• Lead thermal vacuum testing, model correlation and qualification activities
• Support spacecraft-level environmental testing, anomaly investigation and flight readiness
• Provide technical leadership and help establish thermal engineering standards as the team grows

Skills

Aerospace thermal engineering

Thermal modelling

Design/TVAC/qualification

Thermal Desktop

SINDA

ANSYS

Radiation/conduction environments

Cross-disciplinary collaboration

Principal ownership

Precision optics/laser thermo-optics

Tools

Thermal Desktop

SINDA

ANSYS

Job description

Principal Thermal Engineer – Spacecraft & Optical Payloads

I’m working with a rapidly growing, venture-backed space company developing advanced spacecraft payloads and next-generation orbital infrastructure.

They’re looking for a Principal Thermal Engineer to become the technical owner for thermal engineering across spacecraft and high-performance optical/laser payloads.

This is a senior, hands-on role covering the full lifecycle from early architecture and modelling through hardware integration, environmental testing and flight readiness.

What you’ll be working on:

• Define spacecraft and payload thermal architectures and control strategies
• Perform detailed conductive and radiative thermal analysis
• Develop and correlate thermal models against hardware and test data
• Analyse thermal gradients, stability and distortion across precision optical systems
• Support high-power electronics, lasers, sensors and other thermally sensitive hardware
• Perform coupled thermal / structural / optical trades alongside mechanical and optical engineers
• Define heaters, insulation, coatings, thermal interfaces and passive/active thermal solutions
• Lead thermal vacuum testing, model correlation and qualification activities
• Support spacecraft-level environmental testing, anomaly investigation and flight readiness
• Provide technical leadership and help establish thermal engineering standards as the team grows

They’re particularly interested in engineers with strong experience across spacecraft, satellites, optical payloads, EO/IR systems, directed energy, laser systems or other high-reliability aerospace hardware.

Ideally you’ll bring:

• Significant spacecraft or aerospace thermal engineering experience
• Strong thermal modelling and first-principles heat-transfer knowledge
• Experience taking hardware through design, analysis, build, TVAC and qualification
• Experience with tools such as Thermal Desktop/SINDA, ANSYS or equivalent
• Understanding of radiation, conduction, thermal interfaces and spacecraft thermal environments
• Experience working closely with mechanical, optical, electrical, controls and systems teams
• The technical judgement and ownership expected of a Principal-level engineer
• Experience with precision optics, laser systems, STOP analysis, thermo-optical modelling or high-power payloads would be particularly valuable — Mantis’s existing optical roles explicitly call for these coupled thermal/optical capabilities.

This is an opportunity to become the key thermal authority inside a small, highly technical team building genuinely novel space hardware.