Senior Thermal Structures Engineer - Reentry Heat Shield

Inversion Space Company; Vista (CA); On-site; USD 137,000 - 193,000; Full time

Job summary

Inversion Space Company seeks a Senior Thermal Structures Engineer to own heat shield and hot structure hardware from concept through flight. You will design, analyze, and optimize structures for extreme reentry conditions while coordinating with materials and manufacturing teams to ensure fabricability and test readiness.

You will perform structural and thermal-structural analyses, manage CTE mismatches and thermal gradients, and develop models, drawings, and GD&T for release.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related field.
• 5+ years of experience in mechanical/structural design of aerospace hardware.
• Experience with structural analysis of own designs (hand calculations + FEA).
• Experience with thermal-structural analysis and thermally induced stress/deflection.
• Strong fundamentals in strength of materials and joint design.
• Proficiency with 3D CAD and GD&T.

Responsibilities

• Own detailed mechanical design of heat shield components and assemblies, including TPS panels and hot substructure.
• Perform structural and thermal-structural analysis from hand calculations to FEA.
• Design to manage thermally induced strains across joints and interfaces.
• Collaborate with materials and manufacturing engineers to ensure fabricability and inspection readiness.
• Define and support structural/thermal testing from unit to qualification.
• Develop part/assembly models, drawings, and GD&T through release.

Skills

Mechanical engineering

Aerospace engineering

Finite element analysis

Thermal-structural analysis

3D CAD

Prototype/rapid iteration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering

Tools

Nastran

Abaqus

Ansys

CAD (3D)

Job description

Inversion Space Company seeks a Senior Thermal Structures Engineer to own heat shield and hot structure hardware from concept through flight. You will design, analyze, and optimize structures for extreme reentry conditions while coordinating with materials and manufacturing teams to ensure fabricability and test readiness.

You will perform structural and thermal-structural analyses, manage CTE mismatches and thermal gradients, and develop models, drawings, and GD&T for release.