Thermal Protection Systems Engineer — Reusable Rocket

Hop Aero; California; On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare

Office meals and snacks

Stock options

Job summary

Hop Aero in Orange, CA is hiring a Thermal Protection Systems Engineer to develop the TPS for rocket-powered cargo vehicles. You will own TPS development from requirements and material selection through design, manufacturing, integration, and testing, shaping the vehicle's thermal performance and reuse capability.

This hands-on role calls for 5–10 years of relevant experience, deep heat-transfer knowledge, and experience evaluating TPS materials.

Qualifications

• 5–10 years of experience in thermal protection or high-temperature aerospace hardware.
• Strong heat transfer knowledge and thermal analysis experience.
• Experience with TPS materials and integration with hardware.
• Ability to take engineering work through design, manufacturing or procurement, and testing.
• Willingness to travel domestically for testing.
• Must be a U.S. person under ITAR; no visa sponsorship.

Responsibilities

• Own TPS development from requirements through hardware testing and vehicle integration.
• Translate aerodynamic heating environments into TPS requirements, thermal margins, and verification plans.
• Evaluate materials, insulation, coatings, and TPS architectures against thermal performance, mass, manufacturability, inspection, and reuse requirements.
• Develop thermal models and work with structures and mechanical engineers on attachments, interfaces, and thermal expansion.
• Plan and execute material, coupon, and component tests; define instrumentation and correlate models with measured results.
• Work directly with suppliers and manufacturing partners to build repeatable hardware.
• Support vehicle integration, ground and flight testing, and post-test inspection to guide design improvements.

Skills

Heat transfer

Thermal analysis

TPS materials

Hardware integration

Test planning

Data interpretation

Cross-disciplinary collaboration

Travel domestically

ITAR compliance

Tools

CFD software

Job description

Hop Aero in Orange, CA is hiring a Thermal Protection Systems Engineer to develop the TPS for rocket-powered cargo vehicles. You will own TPS development from requirements and material selection through design, manufacturing, integration, and testing, shaping the vehicle's thermal performance and reuse capability.

This hands-on role calls for 5–10 years of relevant experience, deep heat-transfer knowledge, and experience evaluating TPS materials.