Spacecraft Thermal Engineer

Overview Energy•Ashburn, VA

1d•$120,000 - $170,000•Onsite

About The Position

Overview Energy is hiring a Spacecraft Thermal Engineer to co-own thermal control for its first spacecraft and the geosynchronous-orbit platform behind it. The role covers thermal design, analysis, hardware, and testing for a multi-kilowatt payload that must reject heat to deep space through full sun and eclipse. The engineer will work with structures, optics, and integration teams from the company’s Ashburn, Virginia office, and will build thermal models, conduct chamber testing, and correlate models to test results. The position also includes establishing thermal test capabilities, carrying an SBIR-funded deployable radiator effort from proposal through test, and developing thermal standards for future spacecraft. The engineer will support spacecraft integration at partner facilities in 2027, with travel reaching approximately 25% at peak. The role requires eligibility to comply with U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including ITAR.

Requirements

B.S. in Aerospace, Mechanical, Physics, or a closely related field.
3–8 years of spacecraft thermal design and analysis experience.
At least one thermal design carried from Thermal Desktop modeling through thermal vacuum testing and correlation, with the ability to explain what testing revealed about model inaccuracies.
Working proficiency in Thermal Desktop and SINDA/FLUINT, or a comparable tool and willingness to switch.
Hands-on chamber experience instrumenting hardware, running tests, and reducing data.
Working knowledge of spacecraft thermal control hardware, including temperature sensors, heaters, phase-change materials, heat pipes, MLI, and thermal control coatings.
Experience using Python, MATLAB, or Excel VBA to automate analysis and test data reduction.
Must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, protected individual under 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain required U.S. Department of State authorizations.

Nice To Haves

M.S. in a relevant engineering or physics discipline.
Thermal hardware designed by the candidate that has flown.
STOP analysis experience on an optical payload, including providing thermal distortion information to an optics team.
Board- and box-level electronics thermal design for space.
Experience establishing or upgrading a thermal test facility, including chamber, DAQ, and heater control.
Experience with heat pipes, loop heat pipes, or deployable radiators for high-heat-flux payloads.
Flight thermal hardware integration and test-planning experience.
Experience purchasing thermal hardware from suppliers and verifying it against specifications.
Experience writing a proposal for, or leading, an SBIR or other technology development effort.

Responsibilities

Co-own thermal control design for the first spacecraft and GEO platform, including radiator sizing, heater zones, coatings, and MLI.
Build and correlate Thermal Desktop and SINDA/FLUINT models, including hot and cold cases, design trades, and margins.
Provide optical bench temperature maps to structures and optics teams for STOP analysis, and update the maps as geometry changes.
Specify and procure flight thermal hardware, manage suppliers against specifications, and verify delivered hardware.
Establish thermal test capabilities, including TVAC chamber upgrades, ambient-pressure testing, precision temperature sensing, heater control, and safe test procedures.
Plan and conduct thermal balance and thermal cycle tests, and correlate models to test data.
Define thermal cycling profiles with the structures analyst so strain measurements align with temperature data.
Support 2027 spacecraft integration at partner facilities by installing and checking out strongback and optical bench thermal hardware.
Defend the thermal design at peer and mission reviews and own the thermal section of the design package.
Write thermal design, analysis, and test standards for future engineers.
Carry an SBIR-funded deployable radiator from proposal through test.