Principal Thermal Design Engineer Verified today
The Role
You will be a core driver of the detailed thermal design of spacecraft subsystems by running thermal analysis at both the component and spacecraft level. You will also be involved in exploring different thermal management strategies and demonstrating them through test campaigns.
You will have experience with in-orbit integrated thermal analysis of spacecraft components using both first principles and analytical models with software tools such as Thermal Desktop, Ansys IcePak, and Python for automation. Hands-on experience with thermal testing for spacecraft components such as thermal cycling and TVAC is highly preferred.
Responsibilities
- Collaborate with Mechanical teams to develop passive and active thermal control hardware for the spacecraft including radiators, heaters, heat pipes, and surface coating
- Partner with Avionics teams to develop thermal models and thermal tests for electronic assemblies
- Work with the GNC teams to define and thermally analyze nominal and contingency cases for in-orbit operations of the spacecraft
- Develop and maintain thermal models for spacecraft and sub-components using Thermal Desktop and Ansys
- Interface with vendors and launcher providers to understand their design and translate it into thermal-related requirements
- Automate data analysis to support architectural trades effectively
- Set up and execute thermal testing ranging from development to qualification
Qualifications
- 8+ years of experience with satellite thermal design and analysis
- Demonstrated experience with radiative and conductive thermal modeling of spacecraft systems using Thermal Desktop
- Experience with selection, sizing, and design of thermal control hardware including heat pipes, heaters, stickers, OSR, thermal straps, thermal paints, tapes, MLI, TEC
- Experience with thermal cycling and thermal vacuum testing including predictions, setup, instrumentation and thermal model correlation
Nice to Have
- Experience with full-vehicle thermal vacuum testing and model correlation
- Experience with spacecraft thermal design optimized for cost, reliability, performance and manufacturability
- Experience with integrated thermal analysis of spacecraft and rocket
- Experience with solar panel thermal modeling
- Experience with electrical PCBA thermal modeling and thermal interface materials (thermal grease, gap pads, etc.)
- Experience with spacecraft primary radiator design and analysis
- Familiarity with SMC-S016 standard or equivalent
- Experience with Python, C/C++, or Matlab for thermal modeling and automated data analysis