Thermal Engineer I

Relativity Space•Long Beach, CA

About The Position

Relativity Space is hiring a Thermal Engineer I to help develop thermal systems for its Terran R launch vehicle. The role works with peer technical teams to define thermal system architecture, sizing, and development, including insulation, heaters, thermal protection, and environmental conditioning. It also involves building, executing, and validating thermal analyses at component, subsystem, and vehicle levels, and supporting tool development and automation. The engineer applies thermal sciences to help design and development engineers meet system and component requirements. The role also develops and executes tests for thermal system development and qualification, including test article integration, instrumentation setup, and data processing. Additional support includes vehicle and engine thermal system development, stage testing, and flight operations. The Thermal team predicts temperatures, designs thermal architectures, and guides designs for launch vehicle structures, fluids, components, and avionics. It uses first-principles calculations, reduced-order modeling, and detailed coupled-system thermal modeling, working across teams from concept through launch.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in engineering or a related field.
Experience in industry through internships or university collaborations.
Strong fundamentals in heat transfer and thermal analysis.
Hands-on experience writing test plans and performing testing, instrumentation, and data analysis at component and system levels.
Experience with an engineering scripting language such as MATLAB or Python.

Nice To Haves

Graduate degree in engineering or a related field.
Experience solving complex problems on integrated vehicles with design teams.
Experience in component- and system-level thermal and fluids analysis using relevant toolsets such as Sinda/Fluint/Thermal Desktop or other commercial FEM/FDM/FVM solvers.
Familiarity with cryogenic liquid rocket stage architecture, engine architecture, and operations.
Understanding of aerodynamics and external flight-related heating, including thermal protection system materials and sizing.

Responsibilities

Drive the architecture, sizing, and development of thermal systems such as insulation, heaters, thermal protection, and environmental conditioning, in collaboration with peer technical teams.
Build, execute, and validate thermal analyses at component, subsystem, and vehicle levels, including supporting tool development and automation.
Guide design and development engineers in applying thermal sciences to meet system and component requirements.
Develop and execute tests for thermal system development and qualification, including test article integration, instrumentation setup, and data processing.
Support vehicle and engine thermal system development and stage testing, as well as flight operations.