Location: Torrance, CA
Employment Type: Full-Time
Work Arrangement: 100% On-site, Monday–Friday
Start Date: TBD
Compensation: TBD — based on skills and experience
Important Screening Requirements
-
BS or higher in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Applied Physics, or a related field.
- 5+ years of aerospace thermal engineering experience.
-
Experience supporting rocket, spacecraft, aircraft, missile, or other high-performance aerospace programs.
-
Strong understanding of heat transfer, fluid dynamics, and high-temperature environments.
-
Experience with electronic unit thermal analysis and control to component-junction temperatures.
-
Ground testing experience involving thermal instrumentation and data acquisition.
-
Strong MATLAB, Python, or similar programming skills.
-
Experience with SolidWorks or Siemens NX.
-
Experience preparing formal technical documentation.
-
Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance.
-
Must be able to work on-site in Torrance, CA.
About the Role
We are seeking a Senior Thermal Engineer to lead thermal engineering methodology across advanced missile systems.
This role covers thermal architecture, high-fidelity modeling, first-principles analysis, simulation, hardware testing, ground testing, and flight-test data analysis. You will work across aerodynamics, structures, electrical, propulsion, systems, manufacturing, and test engineering teams.
What We're Looking For
We're looking for a hands-on thermal engineer who can move between analytical modeling, hardware testing, and flight data while working across multiple engineering disciplines to solve challenging thermal problems.
Key Responsibilities
-
Perform thermal design and analysis of unmanned air vehicles from conceptual through detailed design.
-
Define thermal system architectures and material-selection strategies.
-
Perform thermal analysis using standard thermal-analysis codes and engineering/hand methods.
-
Conduct transient thermal analysis for time-varying mission profiles.
-
Plan, execute, and analyze specialized thermal ground testing.
-
Plan and support flight testing and post-flight thermal data analysis.
-
Develop MATLAB/Python models using first-principles methods to support engineering decisions.
-
Collaborate with aerodynamics, structures, electrical, and systems engineers.
-
Present thermal status during formal internal and customer reviews.
-
Prepare specifications, test procedures, technical reports, and other formal engineering documentation.
Required Qualifications
-
BS or higher in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Applied Physics, or a related field.
-
In-depth understanding of heat transfer, fluid dynamics, and high-temperature environments.
-
5+ years of aerospace thermal engineering experience on rocket, spacecraft, aircraft, or missile programs.
-
Experience with electronic unit thermal analysis and component-junction temperature control.
-
Ground testing experience with thermal instrumentation and data acquisition.
-
Strong programming skills in MATLAB, Python, or similar tools.
-
Formal technical documentation experience.
-
SolidWorks or Siemens NX experience.
-
Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance.
Preferred Qualifications
-
MS or higher degree with a focus on heat transfer and fluid dynamics.
-
Material ablation-response modeling experience.
-
Knowledge of material degradation and surface phenomena in demanding thermal environments.
-
Experience with specialized thermal ground-test facilities.
-
Flight-test experience, including instrumentation design and post-flight analysis.
-
Experience with Thermal Desktop/SINDA.
-
Experience with manufacturing and assembly of thermal systems.
-
Active U.S. security clearance.