Senior Thermal Engineer — Passive Cooling for Sealed Space Hardware

Blue Origin LLC; Seattle, Northern (WA, KY); Hybrid; USD 157,000 - 220,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

401(k) match

Stock options

Paid time off

Parental leave

Job summary

Blue Origin's Greater Seattle area seeks a Senior Thermal Engineer to own thermal architecture for the TeraWave user terminal, a rugged outdoor device designed to dissipate heat from high-power beamforming electronics while surviving IP67 environments.

You will lead CFD/FEA modelling, select TIMs and heat spreaders, and work with RF, EE, and Mechanical teams to ensure reliable performance from -40°C to +65°C with passive cooling.

Qualifications

• Bachelors or Masters in Mechanical/Aerospace with heat transfer focus.
• 7+ years of thermal engineering in electronics hardware.
• Proficiency with thermal simulation tools for component/system modeling.
• Experience designing passive cooling for sealed/enclosed electronics.
• IP-rated enclosure thermal challenges and weatherproofing tradeoffs.
• Knowledge of TIMs, gap fillers, and potting adhesives.
• Hands-on thermal characterization: imaging, thermocouples, chamber tests.
• Ability to partner with RF, EE, and mechanical teams on designs.

Responsibilities

• Define overall thermal management strategy for a rugged outdoor terminal.
• Build and maintain CFD/FEA models of PCB, enclosure, and components.
• Develop power dissipation budgets with RF/EE teams and identify hot spots.
• Select heat sinks, heat pipes, TIMs, and enclosure materials for performance and cost.
• Lead thermal characterization testing to validate models and refine designs.

Skills

Thermal engineering

RF/EE collaboration

Passive cooling

Heat transfer

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in Mechanical/Aerospace Engineering

Tools

Ansys Icepak

Siemens Simcenter FLOTHERM

6SigmaET

Job description

Blue Origin's Greater Seattle area seeks a Senior Thermal Engineer to own thermal architecture for the TeraWave user terminal, a rugged outdoor device designed to dissipate heat from high-power beamforming electronics while surviving IP67 environments.

You will lead CFD/FEA modelling, select TIMs and heat spreaders, and work with RF, EE, and Mechanical teams to ensure reliable performance from -40°C to +65°C with passive cooling.