Senior Spacecraft Thermal Engineer | Lead & Analyze

The Aerospace Corporation; El Segundo (CA); On-site; USD 87,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive health care and wellness

Paid holidays, sick time, and vacation

Flexible scheduling, telework options

401(k) plan with company contributions

Flexible spending accounts

Variable pay program

Relocation assistance

Professional growth programs

Education assistance

Inclusive work environment

Job summary

The Aerospace Corporation is seeking a Spacecraft Thermal Engineer to design, analyze, and lead thermal control solutions for space systems. This full-time role is based in Chantilly, VA or El Segundo, CA, and requires strong heat transfer expertise and hands-on design experience with government customers.

You will mentor teams, perform analyses, and shape thermal hardware across missions, with occasional travel and a TS/SCI clearance.

Qualifications

• B.S. in mechanical or aerospace engineering with emphasis in heat transfer or thermal sciences.
• 1+ years thermal engineering experience.
• Experience with design, analysis, manufacturing, testing, and operation of spacecraft thermal control systems.
• Experience with SINDA/FLUINT and Thermal Desktop; other tools include TSS, EES, SolidWorks, SpaceClaim, CAMEO; scripting in FORTRAN and Python.
• Experience with thermal vacuum (TVAC), thermal cycle, and environmental tests.
• Willingness to travel ~10% of time.
• Must maintain TS/SCI security clearance; U.S. citizenship required.

Responsibilities

• Engage with internal and external customers to identify, track, and resolve design and performance issues in thermal control subsystems.
• Lead and conduct analyses, modeling, simulations, and experiments to support spacecraft thermal designs.
• Provide strategic leadership in thermal systems engineering and curate department knowledge and capabilities.
• Lead teams of 2+ engineers on programs and inter-department projects.

Skills

Heat transfer

Thermal design

Spacecraft systems

SINDA/FLUINT

Thermal Desktop

Python

FORTRAN

Security clearance

Education

B.S. in mechanical or aerospace engineering

M.S./Ph.D. in mechanical or aerospace engineering

Tools

SINDA/FLUINT

Thermal Desktop

SolidWorks

SpaceClaim

CAMEO

FORTRAN

Python

TSS

EES

Job description

The Aerospace Corporation is seeking a Spacecraft Thermal Engineer to design, analyze, and lead thermal control solutions for space systems. This full-time role is based in Chantilly, VA or El Segundo, CA, and requires strong heat transfer expertise and hands-on design experience with government customers.

You will mentor teams, perform analyses, and shape thermal hardware across missions, with occasional travel and a TS/SCI clearance.