Thermal Engineer - Electronics Cooling for Defense Tech

Telemetry Today LLC; Costa Mesa, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 129,000 - 171,000; Full time

Job summary

Anduril Industries in Costa Mesa, CA seeks a Thermal Engineer to own the thermal design of electronic assemblies across air vehicles, maritime, ground systems, and wearables. You will apply heat transfer and fluid dynamics expertise to develop robust thermal architectures and validate them with prototypes.

You will perform hand calculations and first‑order modeling in MATLAB/Python, run CFD/FEA tools, and collaborate with electrical, mechanical, and systems engineers to ensure performance under

Qualifications

• MS or higher degree in mechanical/ aerospace engineering or applied physics (BS with experience considered).
• Strong understanding of heat transfer and fluid dynamics fundamentals.
• 2–4 years of experience in thermal design, analysis, or testing for electronics or integrated hardware products.
• Familiarity with electronics cooling concepts — TIMs, heat sinks, heat pipes, enclosures.
• Exposure to thermal testing — sensor selection, data acquisition, data post-processing.
• Experience with at least one thermal FEA/CFD tool — STAR-CCM+, ANSYS, Icepak, FloEFD, or COMSOL.
• CAD experience with Siemens NX, SolidWorks, or equivalent.
• Willingness and ability to obtain US TS security clearance.

Responsibilities

• Own the thermal design and analysis of electronics—from board-level to enclosures for products across platforms.
• Use first principles and select appropriate analysis methods before detailed design.
• Define thermal architecture and heat-rejection paths to meet junction and touch-temperature limits.
• Establish operating conditions for various platforms considering altitude, salt fog, solar load, and wearables.
• Work with electrical, mechanical, and systems engineers to characterize power dissipation.
• Communicate trade-offs and drive designs balancing thermal margin with size, weight, and power.
• Own the thermal FEA/CFD models and set red/yellow design limits for testing and operation.
• Lead prototype builds and testing to verify thermal designs, post-process data, and summarize results.
• Present thermal status at reviews and to customers, outlining timelines and technical status.
• Develop internal tools to improve analysis efficiency and effectiveness.
• Support failure reviews with data and thermal analysis.

Skills

Heat transfer fundamentals

Fluid dynamics fundamentals

Thermal design/analysis

Electronics cooling concepts

Python or MATLAB for thermal analysis

Multi-product experience

Education

MS in mechanical/aerospace engineering or applied physics

BS with relevant experience

Tools

STAR-CCM+

ANSYS

Icepak

FloEFD

COMSOL

Siemens NX

SolidWorks

Job description

Anduril Industries in Costa Mesa, CA seeks a Thermal Engineer to own the thermal design of electronic assemblies across air vehicles, maritime, ground systems, and wearables. You will apply heat transfer and fluid dynamics expertise to develop robust thermal architectures and validate them with prototypes.

You will perform hand calculations and first‑order modeling in MATLAB/Python, run CFD/FEA tools, and collaborate with electrical, mechanical, and systems engineers to ensure performance under