Senior Spacecraft Thermal Engineer

Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory•Laurel, MD

3d•Onsite

About The Position

We are seeking an experienced spacecraft thermal engineer to help us develop one-of-a-kind spacecraft, payloads, and thermal control systems. Depending on the size and scope of the effort, you may serve as a senior technical contributor on a large program or lead the thermal engineering effort for a smaller project. You will contribute to Civil Space missions such as Dragonfly, National Security Space missions, and proposals for future work in both domains. You will join a multidisciplinary team of engineers who conceive, develop, analyze, test, launch, and fly spacecraft systems.

Requirements

BS in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering or equivalent.
10+ years of experience in spacecraft or instrument thermal engineering, including thermal design, analysis, and testing across multiple phases of the development lifecycle.
Strong foundation in heat transfer theory and proficiency using Thermal Desktop.
Proven experience independently leading thermal engineering tasks or small technical teams.
Willing and able to travel up to 10% of the time.
Able to obtain a TS/SCI security clearance. If selected, you will be subject to a government security clearance investigation and must meet the requirements for access to classified information. Eligibility requirements include U.S. citizenship.

Nice To Haves

MS or PhD in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering or equivalent.
Experience with airflow modeling, including forced and natural convection, and advanced Thermal Desktop capabilities such as FloCAD or TD Direct.

Responsibilities

Lead or contribute to spacecraft thermal control system design, analysis, and testing.
Develop thermal models and conduct analyses using software such as Thermal Desktop.
Support thermal testing, including generating test plans and specifications, analyzing test data, and performing model correlation.
Assist with spacecraft integration, including procedure development, activity coordination, and installation oversight.
Conduct and communicate thermal design trade studies that balance performance margins, resource use, risk, cost, and schedule, and present thermal engineering results at peer reviews, design reviews, and other major technical reviews.
Mentor early-career thermal engineers.