Senior Spacecraft Thermal Engineer — End-to-End, On-Site CO

Rendezvous Robotics; Golden (CO); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Medical, vision, dental

Disability & life insurance

Parental leave

Paid vacation

Job summary

Rendezvous Robotics, based in Golden, Colorado, seeks a Mid to Senior Thermal Engineer to own the thermal architecture end to end for self‑assembling tiles and spacecraft. You will design, size, and qualify thermal‑control hardware, build detailed models, and deliver data‑driven recommendations.

You’ll collaborate across engineering disciplines and mentor junior team members. The role is full‑time and on‑site in Golden, CO, with responsibilities spanning from concept to flight and on‑orbit

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s in Mechanical, Aerospace, or related engineering.
• 5+ years of spacecraft thermal design and analysis.
• Experience owning thermal‑control hardware design (radiators, MLI, heaters, coatings).
• Proficiency with thermal analysis tools such as Thermal Desktop, SINDA/FLUINT, ESATAN, or Python.

Responsibilities

• Own the thermal architecture and thermal‑control subsystem end to end—from requirements to on‑orbit operation.
• Design, select, and size thermal‑control hardware (radiators, MLI, heaters, coatings).
• Build, refine, and correlate detailed thermal models for steady‑state and transient analyses.
• Evaluate orbital thermal environments and radiator sizing.
• Define thermal requirements, margins, and drive system‑level studies.
• Support coupled thermo‑structural assessments.
• Plan and execute thermal‑vacuum and thermal‑balance tests with instrumentation.
• Document outputs and mentor junior engineers in thermal best practices.

Skills

Thermal design

Thermal analysis

Thermal hardware

Python scripting

Aerospace knowledge

Education

Bachelor's or Master’s in Mechanical/Aerospace engineering

Tools

Thermal Desktop

SINDA/FLUINT

ESATAN

Python

Job description

Rendezvous Robotics, based in Golden, Colorado, seeks a Mid to Senior Thermal Engineer to own the thermal architecture end to end for self‑assembling tiles and spacecraft. You will design, size, and qualify thermal‑control hardware, build detailed models, and deliver data‑driven recommendations.

You’ll collaborate across engineering disciplines and mentor junior team members. The role is full‑time and on‑site in Golden, CO, with responsibilities spanning from concept to flight and on‑orbit