Senior Spacecraft Thermal Engineer – Lead TVAC & Modeling

Blue Origin; Littleton (CO); On-site; USD 120,000 - 168,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision insurance

401(k) with company match

Education Support Program

Stock Options

Paid Time Off

Company holidays

Job summary

Blue Origin is seeking an experienced Thermal Engineer to drive development of spacecraft thermal systems, perform trade studies, and develop vehicle-level models using SINDA/FLUINT with Thermal Desktop. You will lead analyses, document results, and support TVAC testing across mission phases.

The role emphasizes hands-on design, modeling, and collaboration within a safety‑conscious, inclusive culture as part of the Lunar Permanence unit supporting Blue Moon landers and related products.

Qualifications

• BS in mechanical or aerospace engineering.
• Solid understanding of thermal physics fundamentals.
• 7+ years of relevant experience in design, analysis, and test of spacecraft thermal systems.
• Experience in thermal analysis, including model validation and test correlation.
• Ability to lead projects and teams, earn trust, maintain positive and professional relationships.
• Experience in design, analysis, and testing of spacecraft thermal systems.
• Must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident, or otherwise lawfully admitted into the U.S.

Responsibilities

• Drive the development of thermal systems including system architecture definition, thermal system modeling, component sizing, and design.
• Perform trade studies relating to selection of material and subsystem hardware.
• Perform hand calculations to screen concepts without detailed modeling and to sanity check finite element/difference model results.
• Develop vehicle-level thermal models using SINDA/FLUINT with Thermal Desktop.
• Develop and maintain system analysis documentation.
• Perform steady state & transient thermal analysis of spacecraft thermal systems as well as tracking of system performance in ground ops, TVAC testing, launch, Earth orbit, and beyond Earth orbit environments.
• Provide thermal engineering leadership for TVAC procedures, scripts and installation designs.
• Provide thermal engineering leadership for thermal hardware design, documentation, procurement, planning, and AI&T support.

Skills

Thermal design

Thermal analysis

System modeling

SINDA/FLUINT

Thermal Desktop

TVAC testing

Leadership

Python/C/C++

CREO/Windchill

Education

BS in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering

MS in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering (preferred)

Tools

SINDA/FLUINT

Thermal Desktop

CREO/Windchill

Python

C/C++

Job description

Blue Origin is seeking an experienced Thermal Engineer to drive development of spacecraft thermal systems, perform trade studies, and develop vehicle-level models using SINDA/FLUINT with Thermal Desktop. You will lead analyses, document results, and support TVAC testing across mission phases.

The role emphasizes hands-on design, modeling, and collaboration within a safety‑conscious, inclusive culture as part of the Lunar Permanence unit supporting Blue Moon landers and related products.