Thermal Systems Engineer V

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

1d•$213,824 - $266,552•Onsite

About The Position

The Thermal Systems Engineer V will work in the Spacecraft Thermal Systems Group (353S) within JPL’s Thermal, Propulsion, and Materials Engineering Section. The role oversees the specification, implementation, and verification and validation of a flight system or payload thermal control system through development Phases A–D. The engineer is responsible for the system’s technical design, status, and issues, ensuring thermal products and processes meet JPL institutional standards and documenting non-compliances. The position reports to the Group Supervisor, with programmatic reporting to project flight system or payload managers and administrative reporting to the Thermal, Propulsion & Materials Engineering Section Manager (3530). The role carries responsibility for planning and controlling financial and labor resources and schedules, making risk-management decisions, and meeting performance commitments. It provides thermal technical leadership, manages thermal risks, oversees thermal interfaces among stakeholders, and represents the thermal system in project and systems-engineering meetings and reviews. The position is based in the Pasadena, California, JPL work environment and requires willingness to support frequent domestic travel.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering with a thermal or fluids focus, or a related technical discipline, and typically at least 12 years of related experience; alternatively, a master’s degree in a similar discipline and at least 10 years of experience, or a Ph.D. in a similar discipline and at least 8 years of experience.
Broad knowledge and experience in one or more of heat transfer, fluid mechanics, thermal systems design, controls theory, and systems engineering.
Significant experience in spaceflight thermal subsystem or instrument engineering, particularly spacecraft thermal bus design and development.
Thermal hardware delivery experience.
Experience leading teams and coordinating project working groups in instrument, subsystem, or bus development, test, or operations at the systems level.
Experience developing and delivering system documentation, such as requirements documents, test plans, interface agreements, and design description documents.
Experience working on external procurements.
Excellent problem-solving skills.
Ability to manage multiple issues, tasks, and priorities concurrently.
Experience in requirements and interface development, systems formulation, verification, and flight operations.
Excellent collaboration, negotiation, and communication skills.
Willingness to support frequent domestic travel.

Nice To Haves

Experience implementing a thermal control system with an external partner.
In-depth knowledge of translating spacecraft or instrument requirements into thermal requirements.
Experience designing and implementing single- or multi-phase mechanically pumped fluid loops for thermal control applications.
Experience with thermal control of flight systems or space-based instruments.
Experience planning, preparing, and executing flight thermal balance tests.
Knowledge of JPL and NASA policies and procedures.
Experience developing flight project and/or technology development proposals.
Working knowledge of thermal environments for flight system or instrument development.
Thermal software experience, including Thermal Desktop, and mechanical CAD software experience, including Solidworks, AutoCAD, or NX.
Experience writing procedures, releasing drawings, and negotiating or implementing cross-domain interfaces involving manufacturing, structural analysis, electrical, fault protection behaviors, flight rules, and outside vendors or collaborators.

Responsibilities

Oversee specification, implementation, verification, and validation of a flight system or payload thermal control system.
Maintain cognizance of technical design, status, and issues throughout development Phases A through D, ensure thermal products and processes meet JPL institutional standards, and document non-compliances.
Plan, direct, and control financial and labor resources and schedules; make risk-management decisions and performance commitments to fulfill project objectives.
Manage flight system or payload thermal risks.
Provide thermal technical leadership individually or as a member of a management team.
Oversee development of flight system or payload thermal interfaces and coordinate stakeholders to ensure operable, reliable, and safe interactions between systems.
Present work in management and project reviews as required.
Represent the flight system or payload thermal system at systems-engineering team meetings and lead or contribute to project-level design trades.