Thermal Flight Operations Engineer, Amazon Leo (Satellites)

Socket.dev; Redmond (WA); On-site; USD 129,000 - 175,000; Full time

Job summary

Amazon Leo is seeking a Thermal Flight Operations Engineer in Redmond, WA to support the full mission lifecycle of the satellite constellation. You will operate thermal responses, build automation, dashboards, and tools, and collaborate with mission operations and design teams to optimize thermal margins and overall performance.

The role requires Python experience, real-time monitoring, and willingness to work rotating shifts including launch windows.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field.
• 3+ years of experience in thermal engineering, spacecraft operations, or systems engineering.
• Proficiency in Python or similar.
• Experience with real-time system monitoring and anomaly response.
• Ability to work flexible shifts (launch support).
• Experience with data analysis tools and software.
• Familiarity with fundamentals of heat transfer and thermodynamics.

Responsibilities

• Execute defined thermal operational responses and coordinate transitions.
• Monitor thermal system health using telemetry and dashboards.
• Track temperature trends and thermal margins against limits.
• Investigate in-flight thermal anomalies with SMEs and document procedures.
• Develop and maintain automated monitoring, alerts, and data pipelines.
• Collaborate with Thermal Design Engineers to keep solutions within safety margins.

Skills

Python

Real-time monitoring

Data analysis

Anomaly response

Operational procedures

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Bachelor of Science degree (or equivalent)

Tools

Version control systems

Job description

Amazon Leo is Amazon's low Earth orbit satellite network. Our mission is to deliver fast, reliable internet connectivity to customers beyond the reach of existing networks. From individual households to schools, hospitals, businesses, and government agencies, Amazon Leo will serve people and organizations operating in locations without reliable connectivity.

Amazon Leo’s Thermal team seeks a Thermal Flight Operations Engineer to support the full mission lifecycle of Amazon Leo’s satellite constellation -- from ground operations and pre-launch verification, through early mission checkouts and commissioning, on-orbit thermal monitoring and management, and eventual descent and decommissioning. This role works with Amazon Leo’s Mission Operations team and Thermal team to ensure the safe and effective operation of each satellite’s mission.

The Thermal Flight Operations Engineer serves as the operational liaison between Mission Operations and the Thermal team. The role combines hands-on execution of approved thermal responses with the continuous development of automation, monitoring tools, and operational procedures for the Thermal team.

A significant portion of the position focuses on building and improving automated capabilities -- scripted procedures, telemetry dashboards, alerting systems, and tools that scale with the growing constellation. This work requires close collaboration with Thermal Design Engineers and other subsystem operators to ensure all solutions remain within established safety margins and operational parameters.

The role also involves active participation in troubleshooting in-flight thermal anomalies alongside subject matter experts and contributing flight data back to the design team for model correlation and continuous improvement of thermal predictions.

Given that constellation operations run continuously throughout the year, this position requires flexibility in work scheduling. The role operates on standard business hours with rotating on-call responsibilities; launch support may require shifts at scheduled times outside normal hours.

Export Control Requirement: Due to applicable export control laws and regulations, candidates must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (i.e., current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum.

Key job responsibilities

Operations Engineering

• Execute defined thermal operational responses (load switch resets, thermal mode transitions, attitude constraint coordination)
• Monitor and assess thermal system health across the constellation using telemetry data and automated dashboards
• Track temperature trends and thermal margin against approved limits for thermally-critical components
• Investigate and troubleshoot in-flight thermal anomalies (unexpected temperature excursions, heater failures, degraded performance, FDIR)
• Escalate to Thermal Responsible Engineers for scenarios where existing automation or runbooks do not apply
• Document operational instructions and procedures

Automation & Software Development

• Develop and enhance operational procedures, both manual and automated (i.e., software development in Python or similar)
• Build and maintain automated alerts for thermal limit exceedances, margin degradation, and anomalous behavior
• Develop dashboards and telemetry analysis tools that scale with the growing constellation
• Support development of tools leveraging flight data correlation with thermal models
• Formulate responses to new operational scenarios for review and approval

Risk Management & System Health

• Identify and assess thermal operational risks
• Collaborate in the definition of risk mitigations, owning their implementation and in-space execution
• Apply and scale mechanisms to assess thermal system health and margin during all mission phases
• Contribute to improvements of thermal system concepts of operations (CONOPs)

Schedule Availability Requirements

• Launch support includes rotating shifts at scheduled launch times, which may occur outside normal business hours
• Respond to needs for 24/7 on-call support on a rotating basis

About the team

Amazon Leo’s Thermal Team is responsible for the thermal control solutions for all components in Amazon Leo’s satellites and customer terminals. The team works with many engineering disciplines (e.g., mechanical, power, electrical, network, manufacturing) to find designs that maximize performance while minimizing mass, cost, and manufacturing complexity, and enabling all components to operate reliably over the satellite’s target lifetime. The team follows all hardware components from conceptual design through detailed analysis, development testing, launch, and flight.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree
• 3+ years of industry work experience in thermal engineering, spacecraft operations, or systems engineering
• Proficiency in at least one programming language (Python or similar)
• Experience working with version control systems
• Experience with real-time system monitoring and anomaly response
• Demonstrated ability to execute technical procedures and follow operational protocols
• Experience with data analysis tools and software
• Familiarity with fundamentals of heat transfer and thermodynamics
• Ability to work flexible shifts for launch support, including nights, weekends, and holidays
• Ability to respond to urgent on-call situations

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science degree (or equivalent skills/experience) in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Physics, Computer Science, or related discipline
• Experience with spacecraft thermal control systems (heaters, thermistors, radiators, heat pipes, MLI)
• Experience interpreting on-orbit thermal telemetry data
• Experience operating or supporting spacecraft mission operations
• Experience with constellation or distributed systems operations at scale
• Experience developing automated monitoring, alerting, or data pipeline systems
• Understanding of orbital mechanics concepts relevant to thermal environments (beta angle, eclipse cycles, solar flux variation)
• Familiarity with spacecraft thermal testing (thermal vacuum, thermal cycling) and how test data informs flight operations.

Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status.

Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you have a disability and need a workplace accommodation or adjustment during the application and hiring process, including support for the interview or onboarding process, please visit https://amazon.jobs/content/en/how-we-hire/accommodations for more information. If the country/region you’re applying in isn’t listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.

The base salary range for this position is listed below. Your Amazon package will include sign-on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs). Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, qualifications, and location. Amazon also offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage), 401(k) matching, paid time off, and parental leave. Learn more about our benefits at https://amazon.jobs/en/benefits.

USA, WA, Redmond - 129,200.00 - 174,800.00 USD annually