Senior Thermal Engineer, Space Systems & Payloads

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

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation assistance

Up to 25% travel

Job summary

Blue Origin LLC seeks a Senior Thermal Engineer to lead thermal design and analysis for satellite payloads and integrated constellation systems. You will develop and validate thermal models, manage interfaces, and drive design decisions across payload, mechanical, avionics, and power teams.

The role requires strong experience with spaceborne thermal design, high-power electronics, and a collaborative, mission-focused mindset. Relocation assistance and up to 25% travel are offered.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, physics, or related field required.
• Experience with spaceborne thermal design in vacuum environments and flight hardware qualification.
• Proficiency with thermal modeling tools (Thermal Desktop, SINDA/FLUINT, ANSYS Icepak) and materials/thermal interface tech.

Responsibilities

• Lead thermal design and analysis for satellite payloads and constellation hardware.
• Develop detailed thermal models covering conduction, radiation, and convection.
• Define thermal interfaces across subsystems and manage radiators, heat pipes, and cold plates.
• Perform transient/steady-state analyses for mission profiles and environmental conditions.
• Define thermal architecture for common bus/payload configurations and tailor for orbit and payload variants.
• Determine and defend qualification approaches and testing strategy per standards.
• Correlate models with limited test data and extend to production blocks.
• Address high-cycle thermal fatigue and manufacturability of thermal hardware.
• Collaborate across payload, mechanical, power, and systems teams to ensure thermal constraints are integrated.
• Mentor junior engineers and contribute to best practices in thermal engineering.

Skills

Thermal design

Thermal analysis

Thermal modeling

Space hardware qualification

Cross-disciplinary collaboration

Strong communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, physics, or related field

Master's or PhD (preferred)

Tools

Thermal Desktop

SINDA/FLUINT

ANSYS Icepak

Job description

Blue Origin LLC seeks a Senior Thermal Engineer to lead thermal design and analysis for satellite payloads and integrated constellation systems. You will develop and validate thermal models, manage interfaces, and drive design decisions across payload, mechanical, avionics, and power teams.

The role requires strong experience with spaceborne thermal design, high-power electronics, and a collaborative, mission-focused mindset. Relocation assistance and up to 25% travel are offered.