Spacecraft Thermal Systems Engineer — MLI Specialist

Jet Propulsion Laboratory; United States; On-site; USD 110,000 - 133,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, vision

Wellbeing programs

Retirement plans

Paid time off

Flexible schedule

Parental leave

Job summary

Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California seeks a Thermal Engineer to design thermal systems, develop hardware, and lead testing of MLI/SLI blankets. You will work in the Thermal Fluid Systems & Hardware Group, collaborating with engineers to ensure material selection and implementation for flight projects.

The role involves CAD-driven design, fabrication support, and coordination of technicians across multiple facilities, including international partners.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Aerospace, Mechanical or Chemical Engineering, Applied Physics or similar disciplines with a minimum of 3 years of related experience, or Masters with 1 year, or PhD with 0 years.
• Knowledge in heat transfer (radiation, conduction, convection), fluid mechanics and engineering design.
• Understanding of standard principles in heat transfer and thermal engineering.
• Experience managing plans and coordinating logistics.
• Experience with MLI/SLI materials and soft goods use.
• Experience with computer aided design.

Responsibilities

• Design custom SLI and MLI blankets from requirements to support the MLI Lead Engineer.
• Use CAD for blanket patterns and collaborate with Lead MLI Engineer.
• Support fabrication, bake-outs, delivery, and installation of flight blankets in a cleanroom.
• Guide material selection and implementation of thermal SLI/MLI with engineers.
• Oversee material traceability and procurement for flight hardware.
• Coordinate access and logistics for blanket technicians to flight hardware.

Skills

Heat transfer

Fluid mechanics

Numerical methods

Engineering design

Engineering lab work

Computer aided design

Communication skills

Willingness to travel

Education

Bachelor's degree in relevant engineering field

Master's degree in related field

PhD in related field

Tools

Thermal Desktop

TMG

TSS/SINDA

NX Space Systems Thermal

NX

AutoCAD

SolidWorks

MATLAB

LabVIEW

Job description

Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California seeks a Thermal Engineer to design thermal systems, develop hardware, and lead testing of MLI/SLI blankets. You will work in the Thermal Fluid Systems & Hardware Group, collaborating with engineers to ensure material selection and implementation for flight projects.

The role involves CAD-driven design, fabrication support, and coordination of technicians across multiple facilities, including international partners.