Spacecraft Thermal Engineer - High-Power Cooling

Cowboy Space Corporation; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity in Cowboy Space Corp.

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

401(k) retirement savings plan

Paid time off

10 paid holidays per year

Paid parental leave

Relocation assistance

Daily lunch & stocked kitchen

Job summary

Cowboy Space Corp. in Seattle seeks a seasoned Thermal Engineer to design, analyze, implement and validate thermal management for our space-based power and compute platform, focusing on high-power laser systems and spacecraft electronics in LEO.

You will perform thermal modeling with ANSYS Thermal Desktop, develop robust thermal control strategies, support testing campaigns, and collaborate with mechanical, electrical, and optics teams to ensure flight-ready performance.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering or related field.
• 3+ years in thermal analysis and design of spacecraft thermal systems.
• Proficiency with ANSYS Thermal Desktop.
• Strong understanding of thermodynamics and heat transfer.
• Experience designing, selecting and testing thermal hardware (radiators, heat pipes, TIMs, heaters).
• Spaceflight hardware qualification and acceptance testing experience.
• Familiarity with vacuum chamber thermal testing.

Responsibilities

• Thermal System Design: develop spacecraft thermal management architectures for high-power components.
• Thermal Analysis & Modeling: use tools like ANSYS Thermal Desktop to predict behavior in space.
• Thermal System Optimization: balance size, weight, and power to optimize solutions.
• Thermal Testing & Validation: lead thermal cycle and thermal-vacuum tests for flight-worthiness.
• Integration with Mechanical & Electrical Systems: collaborate to ensure seamless integration.
• Material Selection: pick space-grade thermal materials and insulation.
• Reliability & Safety: analyze failures and implement redundancy in thermal controls.
• Collaboration: work with optics, avionics, and propulsion teams on thermal constraints.

Skills

Thermal analysis

Spacecraft thermal design

Thermal modeling

Heat transfer fundamentals

Radiators & heat pipes

Vacuum testing

ANSYS Thermal Desktop

OpenTD

Python scripting

Spaceflight hardware qualification

Education

Bachelor's in Mechanical or Aerospace Eng

Master's or PhD preferred

Tools

ANSYS Thermal Desktop

OpenTD

Python

Job description

Cowboy Space Corp. in Seattle seeks a seasoned Thermal Engineer to design, analyze, implement and validate thermal management for our space-based power and compute platform, focusing on high-power laser systems and spacecraft electronics in LEO.

You will perform thermal modeling with ANSYS Thermal Desktop, develop robust thermal control strategies, support testing campaigns, and collaborate with mechanical, electrical, and optics teams to ensure flight-ready performance.