Senior Thermal Analysis Engineer — Spacecraft Systems & TVac

Telemetry Today LLC; El Segundo, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 179,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance

Relocation assistance

Wellness reimbursement

Parental leave

Employee equity

401(k) with company match

Cell phone reimbursement

Job summary

Varda Space Industries in El Segundo, CA is seeking a Senior Thermal Analysis Engineer to develop and maintain thermal system architectures for spacecraft, collaborating with hardware, production, software, and mission ops to ensure health and performance across mission phases.

You will build and refine thermal models, process flight data, and contribute to workflows that scale with vehicle cadence. The role demands proactive problem solving and tight schedules in a life‑changing space startup.

Qualifications

• B.S. in Mechanical, Aerospace, or related discipline, with 3–6+ years of experience.
• 3+ years of experience developing passive and active thermal control systems.
• Proficiency in detailed thermal analysis in Thermal Desktop, SINDA/FLUINT.
• Experience anchoring thermal models to test and/or flight data.
• Experience planning and executing Thermal Vacuum Chamber (TVac) testing.
• MATLAB (or equivalent) for data processing and task automation.
• Familiarity with thermal margins and qualification test requirements in SMC-S-016.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with an aptitude for interdisciplinary technical communication.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain integrated thermal analysis models for Varda’s space vehicles
• Create and maintain tools/systems for model and flight data processing
• Ensure spacecraft remains within operating and survival limits during all mission phases via passive and active thermal control
• Collaborate with other spacecraft disciplines to drive hardware, software, and/or con-ops improvements
• Plan, execute, and anchor models to Thermal Vacuum (TVac) testing
• Provide guidance to vehicle level testing, such as thermal bakeout, Vehicle-In-The-Loop (VITL), propulsion hot fire, etc.
• Work independently with minimal technical oversight
• Mentor junior engineers and serve as a technical peer reviewer

Skills

Thermal analysis

Modeling

Data processing automation

Cross-functional collaboration

Independent work

Mentoring

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical/Aerospace or related

Tools

Thermal Desktop

SINDA/FLUINT

MATLAB

Job description

Varda Space Industries in El Segundo, CA is seeking a Senior Thermal Analysis Engineer to develop and maintain thermal system architectures for spacecraft, collaborating with hardware, production, software, and mission ops to ensure health and performance across mission phases.

You will build and refine thermal models, process flight data, and contribute to workflows that scale with vehicle cadence. The role demands proactive problem solving and tight schedules in a life‑changing space startup.