TPS Thermal Engineer – Hypersonic Flight Systems

Anduril Industries, Inc.; Mountain View (CA); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Anduril Industries, Inc. in Mountain View, CA, seeks a Thermal Engineer specializing in Thermal Protection Systems (TPS) to own design, analysis, and validation for hypersonic and high-speed flight systems operating in extreme aerothermal environments.

You will perform aerothermal heating analyses, ablation and material response modeling, select TPS materials, and collaborate with aerodynamics, structures, propulsion, and systems engineers to integrate TPS while managing mass, volume, and

Qualifications

• MS or PhD in Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering with focus on aerothermodynamics or materials science.
• 2+ years in TPS design, aerothermal analysis, or high-temperature materials for aerospace/defense.
• Strong first-principles understanding of aerodynamic heating and material response.

Responsibilities

• Own TPS design, material selection, and thermal analysis for hypersonic and high-speed flight vehicles.
• Perform aerothermal heating analysis using correlations, boundary-layer methods, and CFD.
• Model ablation and material response to predict TPS recession and thermal margins.
• Evaluate TPS materials (carbon phenolic, PICA, ceramics, composites) based on loads and manufacturability.
• Collaborate with aerodynamics, structures, propulsion, and systems engineers for integration.
• Define and execute thermal and material characterization tests (arcjet, furnace, flight-article).
• Build thermal models from hand calculations to detailed FEA/CFD for design guidance.
• Present TPS status and tradeoffs in reviews and customer-facing discussions.
• Support failure reviews using test data and first-principles reasoning.

Skills

TPS design

Aerothermal analysis

High-temperature materials

CFD modeling

Material response modeling

Education

MS or PhD in Aerospace/Mechanical Engineering

Tools

FIAT

CMA

TITAN

FEA/CFD

Job description

Anduril Industries, Inc. in Mountain View, CA, seeks a Thermal Engineer specializing in Thermal Protection Systems (TPS) to own design, analysis, and validation for hypersonic and high-speed flight systems operating in extreme aerothermal environments.

You will perform aerothermal heating analyses, ablation and material response modeling, select TPS materials, and collaborate with aerodynamics, structures, propulsion, and systems engineers to integrate TPS while managing mass, volume, and