Principal Thermal Engineer
About The Position
Blue Origin is hiring a Principal Thermal Engineer to support the development and operations of New Glenn, a reusable heavy-lift orbital launch vehicle designed to carry people and payloads to orbit and beyond. As part of a small team of engineers and analysts, this role supports thermal and fluid system design across New Glenn spaceflight systems throughout their lifecycle, from conceptual design and configuration through flight operations and sustaining engineering. The work is analysis-intensive, supporting the development and verification of launch vehicle component and vehicle thermal and fluid environments and performance requirements. The engineer will coordinate analysis questions across multiple teams, help define analysis scope, implement aerothermal, rocket plume heating, and natural environments for all phases of flight, and maintain analysis inputs, models, and results in reports and data books. The role calls for technical expertise, leadership, commitment to quality, and passion for safe human spaceflight.
Requirements
- Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering or Aerospace Engineering.
- At least 15 years of experience in thermal or thermodynamic analysis.
- Demonstrated expertise with one or more thermal or fluids modeling tools.
- Experience reviewing and critiquing models and results developed by junior engineers.
- U.S. citizenship or nationality, U.S. permanent residency, or lawful admission to the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum.
Nice To Haves
- At least 20 years of experience and a master’s or Ph.D. degree.
- Demonstrated expertise with Thermal Desktop, SINDA/FLUINT, or ANSYS Classic.
- Experience analyzing rocket booster and upper-stage systems.
- Experience analyzing cryogenic fluid systems.
- Experience with insulation and thermal protection systems (TPS) on launch and re-entry vehicles.
- Demonstrated expertise using MATLAB, Python, and Git to automate workflows.
- Knowledge of 3D CAD tools; CREO is preferred.
Responsibilities
- Support thermal and fluid system design for New Glenn spaceflight systems throughout the systems’ lifecycle.
- Perform analysis supporting development and verification of launch vehicle component and vehicle thermal and fluid environments and performance requirements.
- Coordinate analysis questions from multiple teams and help define the scope of required analyses.
- Implement aerothermal, rocket plume heating, and natural environments during all phases of flight.
- Own documentation and maintenance of analysis inputs, models, and results in reports and data books.
- Review and critique models and results developed by junior engineers.
Benefits
- Medical insurance
- Dental insurance
- Vision insurance
- Basic and supplemental life insurance
- Paid parental leave
- Short- and long-term disability
- 401(k) with company match of up to 5%
- Education Support Program
- Stock options for regular employees working at least 20 hours per week
- Up to four weeks of paid time off per year based on weekly scheduled hours
- Up to 14 company-paid holidays
- Depending on role type and job level, employees may be eligible for benefits and bonuses based on individual contributions or other factors.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Principal
