Senior Thermal Engineer for AI Satellites

SpaceX; Bastrop (TX); On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

SpaceX in Bastrop, Texas, is looking for a Senior Thermal Engineer focused on fluids analysis to advance the Starmind satellite cooling system. You will own conjugate heat transfer and thermal-fluid analysis of cold plates, heat exchangers, and radiator channels, and help size the cooling loop.

Collaborating with mechanical and fluid-systems teams, you will predict performance under varied flow conditions, automate workflows, and drive design-for-manufacture decisions to scale space hardware.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical, aerospace, or a related engineering discipline.
• 1+ years of professional experience in fluids, CFD, or thermal analysis.
• Master’s degree in mechanical, aerospace, or a related engineering discipline.

Responsibilities

• Own conjugate heat-transfer (CHT) and thermal-fluid analysis of high-performance cold plates, heat exchangers, and radiator channels for STARMIND satellites.
• Own the system 0-D/1-D thermal-fluid network that sizes and balances the cooling loop: flow split, ΔP budget, loop ΔT, pump operating point.
• Drive cooling-loop architecture trades with hardware and vehicle-level thermal teammates.
• Co-evolve geometry, materials and processes with hardware owners to find mass producible, efficient thermal solutions.
• Predict component and system performance under wide range of flow and thermal conditions.
• Own pre-test prediction, test design, and model-test correlation for fluid component and integrated thermal tests.
• Automate analysis workflows for re-running trades as designs and boundary conditions change.

Skills

CFD

Thermal analysis

Fluids

Python scripting

Education

Bachelor's degree in mechanical or aerospace engineering

Master's degree in mechanical or aerospace engineering

Tools

STAR-CCM+

ANSYS Fluent/CFX

Siemens NX

Icepak

Flotherm

Job description

SpaceX in Bastrop, Texas, is looking for a Senior Thermal Engineer focused on fluids analysis to advance the Starmind satellite cooling system. You will own conjugate heat transfer and thermal-fluid analysis of cold plates, heat exchangers, and radiator channels, and help size the cooling loop.

Collaborating with mechanical and fluid-systems teams, you will predict performance under varied flow conditions, automate workflows, and drive design-for-manufacture decisions to scale space hardware.