Senior Thermal Engineer

Mainstream Engineering•Rockledge, FL

About The Position

Mainstream Engineering is looking for a Senior Thermal Engineer to develop advanced thermal management technologies for military, government, and commercial applications. This is an R&D-focused role for an engineer who enjoys solving difficult problems, working with hardware, and turning ideas into real products. Our thermal engineers don't simply perform analysis and hand off their work. You can take an idea from concept to prototype to testing to production. You'll have the opportunity to identify new technologies, develop proposals around your ideas, design and build experimental hardware, perform testing, analyze results, interact directly with customers, and help transition successful technologies into production. Our current work includes thermal systems for hypersonic vehicles, high-power laser systems, and power-dense aerospace platforms, with a focus on reducing size, weight, and power while improving system performance. You'll have the opportunity to work with technologies including: Microchannel cooling Additively manufactured 3D cooling passages Single-phase pumped fluid loops Vapor compression and other refrigeration cycles Radiation thermal management Heat exchangers and electronics coldplates Thermal energy storage Oscillating heat pipes Advanced experimental cooling techniques Your creativity and curiosity can help determine what we investigate next.

Requirements

Master's or PhD in Mechanical Engineering or Aerospace Engineering
Minimum of a 3.3 for all completed degrees
10+ years of professional engineering experience
Strong understanding of heat transfer, thermodynamics, and fluid mechanics
Hands-on laboratory, prototype, or experimental testing experience
Experience developing thermal systems, components, or technologies
Ability to independently lead technical projects and solve complex engineering problems
U.S. Citizenship due to ITAR requirements

Nice To Haves

Experience with data acquisition systems; LabVIEW experience is a plus
Experience with CFD and/or FEA; ANSYS/FLUENT experience is a plus
Experience designing and testing thermal management systems
Experience working with aerospace, defense, or other high-performance systems
Experience taking R&D concepts through prototype development and into production

Responsibilities

Lead thermal engineering projects from concept through prototype, testing, and production
Develop innovative thermal management solutions for challenging real-world applications
Perform analytical calculations involving heat transfer, thermodynamics, and fluid mechanics
Develop and evaluate computational models using CFD and FEA tools
Design, build, instrument, and test experimental hardware
Develop laboratory test plans and analyze experimental data
Work with temperature, pressure, flow, and other instrumentation and data acquisition systems
Collaborate directly with customers to understand requirements and develop solutions
Prepare technical proposals and develop new R&D concepts
Support design for manufacturability and transition of successful technologies into production
Research emerging thermal technologies and identify opportunities for new product development