Senior Thermal Engineer, Spacecraft AI Satellites

SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES CORP; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

SpaceX’s Starmind program seeks a Sr. Thermal Engineer focused on spacecraft analysis to own the vehicle-level thermal model for high‑power AI satellites and to define environments and heat‑rejection strategies across the full flight lifecycle.

You will work with fluids analysts, hardware owners, and TVAC testing to close margins in analysis, test, and flight, and you will automate analysis workflows to support design evolution amid changing mission conditions.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical or aerospace engineering and 5+ years in thermal analysis.
• Preferred: Master’s degree and spacecraft/high‑power vehicle thermal‑fluid modeling.
• Experience with TVAC testing and model correlation is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Own the vehicle‑level thermal model for Starmind satellites.
• Define ground, launch, and on‑orbit environments for the vehicle.
• Drive heat‑rejection architecture trades and radiator sizing.
• Own the system thermal budget and thermal margin closures.
• Lead TVAC/thermal balance tests from planning to correlation.
• Provide component thermal inputs for qualification and acceptance.
• Assess on‑orbit performance and guide hardware upgrades.
• Automate analysis workflows to streamline trades as designs evolve.

Skills

Thermal analysis

Thermal modeling

TVAC testing

Python scripting

Environment definition

Heat rejection design

Multidisciplinary collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in mechanical/ aerospace engineering

Master’s degree (preferred) in mechanical/ aerospace engineering

Tools

Thermal Desktop

SINDA/FLUINT

Job description

SpaceX’s Starmind program seeks a Sr. Thermal Engineer focused on spacecraft analysis to own the vehicle-level thermal model for high‑power AI satellites and to define environments and heat‑rejection strategies across the full flight lifecycle.

You will work with fluids analysts, hardware owners, and TVAC testing to close margins in analysis, test, and flight, and you will automate analysis workflows to support design evolution amid changing mission conditions.