Thermal Design Engineer — Aerospace Defense, TS Clearance

Anduril; Costa Mesa (CA); On-site; USD 112,000 - 149,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive benefits

Job summary

Anduril Industries in Costa Mesa, CA is seeking a Thermal Design Engineer to support thermal design and analysis for advanced defense hardware across drones, aircraft, missiles, and related flight systems.

You will grow into full ownership of complex thermal problems, applying heat transfer fundamentals and first-principles methods in a fast-paced environment while collaborating with electrical, mechanical, aerospace, and systems engineers.

Qualifications

• MS degree in a relevant field with focus on heat transfer, fluid dynamics, thermal sciences, or thermal systems.
• Strong first-principles understanding of heat transfer and fluid dynamics including conduction, convection, radiation, fluid flow, and transient behavior.
• Coursework, research, or internship in thermal analysis, modeling, or testing.
• Experience with engineering analysis tools such as MATLAB or Python.
• Ability to communicate technical concepts clearly to cross-functional teams.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Top Secret security clearance.

Responsibilities

• Support thermal design and analysis for integrated hardware products (drones, aircraft, missiles, defense systems).
• Apply first-principles engineering judgment using hand calculations, spreadsheets, and MATLAB/Python models.
• Build and maintain thermal FEA/CFD models to predict performance and set design limits.
• Support prototype builds and thermal tests, including sensor selection, DAQ setup, data post-processing, and documentation.

Skills

First-principles heat transfer & fluid

MATLAB/Python proficiency

Cross-functional communication

Security clearance readiness

Education

MS in Mechanical Engineering / Aerospace or Applied Physics

Tools

MATLAB

Python

STAR-CCM+/ANSYS/Icepak

SolidWorks/NX

Job description

Anduril Industries in Costa Mesa, CA is seeking a Thermal Design Engineer to support thermal design and analysis for advanced defense hardware across drones, aircraft, missiles, and related flight systems.

You will grow into full ownership of complex thermal problems, applying heat transfer fundamentals and first-principles methods in a fast-paced environment while collaborating with electrical, mechanical, aerospace, and systems engineers.