Senior Thermal Design Engineer

K2 Space•Los Angeles, CA

10d•$100,000 - $180,000

About The Position

K2 is building the largest and highest-power satellites ever flown, unlocking performance levels previously out of reach across every orbit. Backed by $450M from leading investors including Altimeter Capital, Redpoint Ventures, T. Rowe Price, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Alpine Space Ventures, and others – with an additional $500M in signed contracts across commercial and US government customers – we’re mass-producing the highest-power satellite platforms ever built for missions from LEO to deep space. The rise of heavy-lift launch vehicles is shifting the industry from an era of mass constraint to one of mass abundance, and we believe this new era demands a fundamentally different class of spacecraft. Engineered to survive the harshest radiation environments and to fully capitalize on today’s and tomorrow’s massive rockets, K2 satellites deliver unmatched capability at constellation scale and across multiple orbits. We're a team that believes the future lies in building large, high-powered satellites that can handle multiple orbits. With multiple launches planned through 2026 and 2027, we're Building Bigger to develop the solar system and become a Kardashev Type II (K2) civilization. If you are a motivated individual who thrives in a fast-paced environment and you're excited about contributing to the success of a groundbreaking Series C space startup, we’d love for you to apply. The Role You will be a core driver of the detailed thermal design of spacecraft subsystems by running thermal analysis at both the component and spacecraft level. You will also be involved in exploring different thermal management strategies and demonstrating them through test campaigns. Our ideal candidate has experience with in-orbit integrated thermal analysis of spacecraft components using both first principles as well analytical models using software tools (such as Thermal Desktop, Ansys IcePak, and Python for automation purposes). Hands-on experience with thermal testing for spacecraft components such as thermal cycling and TVAC is highly preferred.

Requirements

5+ years of experience with satellite thermal design and analysis
Demonstrated experience with radiative and conductive thermal modeling of spacecraft systems using Thermal Desktop
Experience with selection, sizing, and design of thermal control hardware including heat pipes, heaters, stickers, OSR, thermal straps, thermal paints, tapes, MLI, TEC
Experience with thermal cycling and thermal vacuum testing including predictions, setup, instrumentation and thermal model correlation

Nice To Haves

Experience with full-vehicle thermal vacuum testing and model correlation
Experience with spacecraft thermal design optimized for cost, reliability, performance and manufacturability
Experience with integrated thermal analysis of spacecraft and rocket
Experience with solar panel thermal modeling
Experience with electrical PCBA thermal modeling and thermal interface materials (thermal grease, gap pads, etc.)
Experience with spacecraft primary radiator design and analysis
Familiarity with SMC-S016 standard or equivalent
Experience with Python, C/C++, or Matlab for thermal modeling and automated data analysis

Responsibilities

Collaborate with Mechanical teams to develop passive and active thermal control hardware for the spacecraft including radiators, heaters, heat pipes, and surface coating
Partner with Avionics teams to develop thermal models and thermal tests for electronic assemblies
Work with the GNC teams to define and thermally analyze nominal and contingency cases for in-orbit operations of the spacecraft
Develop and maintain thermal models for spacecraft and sub-components using Thermal Desktop and Ansys
Interface with vendors and launcher providers to understand their design and translate it into thermal-related requirements
Automate data analysis to support architectural trades effectively
Set up and execute thermal testing ranging from development to qualification