Thermal Analysis Engineer

Mclaurin Aerospace • Houston, TX

2d • Onsite

About The Position

McLaurin is seeking a Thermal Analysis Engineer to join its JETS II contract team at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, supporting NASA’s deep space exploration pursuits. The role develops and maintains thermal models and performs thermal analyses for spacecraft components, subsystems, and integrated vehicle configurations across mission phases and off-nominal scenarios. It also supports design optimization, thermal verification and validation, technical reviews, and engineering lifecycle integration with systems engineering, mission operations, and hardware development teams.

The position is posted at multiple levels, and candidates may be considered at any advertised level depending on experience, requirements, and business needs. McLaurin describes its organization as combining research and industry, supporting research, publication, engagement with the academic community, and employees’ continued development in their disciplines. U.S. citizenship and the ability to pass a comprehensive security background investigation are required.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from an accredited institution.
• Typically requires a minimum of 2–5 years of experience in the field or a related area.
• Experience with thermal analysis tools such as Thermal Desktop, COMSOL, ANSYS Fluent, or similar industry-standard software.
• Strong understanding of heat transfer principles and spacecraft thermal environments.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, with the ability to coordinate across multiple technical disciplines.
• Ability to assess and validate thermal designs for technical accuracy and compliance with requirements.
• U.S. citizenship and ability to pass a comprehensive security background investigation.

Nice To Haves

• Typically 5–10 years of relevant engineering experience.
• BS degree in engineering and at least five years of direct engineering experience.
• Familiarity with NASA JSC organizations, processes, and procedures.
• Experience with PTCS or ATCS hardware design, analysis, testing, certification, or operations.
• Proficiency with Thermal Desktop.
• Proven experience performing thermal analysis and design for aerospace systems.
• Familiarity with the Engineering Life Cycle and requirements verification processes.
• Demonstrated ability to coordinate support from a wide range of technical disciplines.
• Strong leadership, including fostering collaboration, driving clear technical direction, and contributing to accountability and high-quality engineering.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain simplified to high-fidelity thermal models using Thermal Desktop, SINDA/FLUINT, and related tools.
• Perform steady-state and transient thermal analyses for spacecraft components, subsystems, and integrated vehicle configurations.
• Evaluate thermal performance across mission phases, including ascent, cruise, lunar orbit, surface operations, and off-nominal scenarios.
• Perform thermal sensitivity studies in support of vendor vehicle designs, GFE designs, or requirement development.
• Support thermal verification and validation activities, including test planning, thermal vacuum testing, data analysis, and model correlation.
• Collaborate with design teams to optimize PTCS and ATCS architectures.
• Provide guidance on thermal design considerations and ensure compliance with NASA requirements and best practices.
• Participate in design reviews, technical interchange meetings, and anomaly investigations.
• Review NASA and vendor thermal designs for technical accuracy and requirement compliance.
• Document analysis results, prepare technical reports, and present findings to internal stakeholders and NASA customers.
• Support integration with systems engineering, mission operations, and hardware development teams throughout the engineering lifecycle.

Benefits

• Competitive pay
• Positive work-life balance
• 100% employer-paid medical, dental, vision, life, accidental death and dismemberment, short-term disability, and long-term disability insurance
• 11 paid holidays annually
• Generous PTO
• 401(k) after 12 months of service with employer match
• Education assistance
• Relocation assistance, if applicable

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level