Thermal Engineer I: Rocket Thermal Systems & Design

Relativity; Long Beach (CA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 136,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary and equity

PTO & sick leave

Parental leave

Learning & development stipend

Job summary

Relativity Space is seeking a Thermal Systems Engineer to drive architecture, sizing, and development of thermal systems for Terran R. You will conduct analyses, guide design teams, and develop tests to ensure robust thermal performance across subsystems and the vehicle.

The role emphasizes hands-on data analysis, scripting in MATLAB/Python, and collaboration with propulsion, manufacturing, and avionics teams to deliver reliable thermal solutions for launch operations.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering or related field.
• Industry experience via internships or university collaborations is preferred.
• Strong fundamentals in heat transfer and thermal analysis.
• Hands-on experience writing test plans, instrumentation, and data analysis at component/system level.
• Experience with engineering scripting language like MATLAB or Python.

Responsibilities

• Drive the architecture, sizing, and development of thermal systems (insulation, heaters, thermal protection, environmental conditioning).
• Build, execute, and validate thermal analyses at component, sub-system, and vehicle levels; support tool development and automation.
• Guide design and development engineers in applying thermal sciences to meet requirements.
• Develop and execute tests to support thermal systems development and qualification; instrument and process data.
• Support vehicle/engine thermal system development, stage testing, and flight operations.

Skills

Heat transfer

Thermal analysis

Test planning

Data analysis

Python

MATLAB

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering or related field

Tools

Sinda

Fluint

Thermal Desktop

FEM/FDM/FVM solvers

Job description

Relativity Space is seeking a Thermal Systems Engineer to drive architecture, sizing, and development of thermal systems for Terran R. You will conduct analyses, guide design teams, and develop tests to ensure robust thermal performance across subsystems and the vehicle.

The role emphasizes hands-on data analysis, scripting in MATLAB/Python, and collaboration with propulsion, manufacturing, and avionics teams to deliver reliable thermal solutions for launch operations.