TPS Thermal Engineer for Hypersonic & Reentry Systems

Anduril Industries; Costa Mesa (CA); On-site; USD 129,000 - 171,000; Full time

Job summary

Anduril Industries seeks a Thermal Engineer specializing in Thermal Protection Systems (TPS) to own the design, analysis, and validation of TPS for hypersonic/high-speed flight systems in extreme aerothermal environments.

You will work across first-principles calculations, material response modeling, and CFD to guide fast, high-consequence design decisions while collaborating with cross-functional teams in a defense-focused environment.

Qualifications

• Advanced degree in aerothermodynamics, heat transfer, or materials science.
• Experience with TPS design and aerothermal analysis in aerospace/defense.
• Proficiency with material response models and CFD for high-speed systems.

Responsibilities

• Own TPS design, material selection, and thermal analysis for hypersonic/spaceflight vehicles.
• Perform aerothermal heating analysis using correlations, boundary-layer methods, and CFD.
• Conduct ablation and material response modeling to predict TPS recession and thermal margins.
• Evaluate TPS materials (carbon phenolic, PICA, ablators, ceramics, CMCs) for loads and manufacturability.
• Collaborate with aerodynamics, structures, propulsion, and systems engineers to integrate TPS into vehicle design.
• Define and execute thermal/material characterization tests (arcjet, furnace, flight-article testing).
• Build thermal models from hand calcs to detailed FEA/CFD to predict performance and limits.
• Present TPS status and tradeoffs in reviews and customer-facing forums.

Skills

Aerothermodynamics

TPS design

Ablation modeling

CFD analysis

First-principles heating

Education

MS or PhD in Aerospace Engineering or related field

Tools

FIAT

CMA

TITAN

NEQAIR

HARA

MATLAB

Python

Job description

Anduril Industries seeks a Thermal Engineer specializing in Thermal Protection Systems (TPS) to own the design, analysis, and validation of TPS for hypersonic/high-speed flight systems in extreme aerothermal environments.

You will work across first-principles calculations, material response modeling, and CFD to guide fast, high-consequence design decisions while collaborating with cross-functional teams in a defense-focused environment.