Sr. Thermal Engineer - Spacecraft Analysis, AI Satellites (Starmind) Verified today

Sr. Thermal Engineer (Spacecraft Analysis), AI Satellites (Starmind)

SpaceX is developing Starmind, a constellation of satellites that capture solar energy in space to power low-cost, high-performance AI compute for Earth. With dense compute payloads dissipating hundreds of kilowatts, the thermal system must efficiently transfer heat to large radiators that reject it to space under solar load, eclipse, and multi-mode AI duty cycles.

You will join the Starmind Thermal team, which owns the satellite cooling stack end-to-end. As a Senior Thermal Engineer focused on spacecraft analysis, you own the vehicle-level thermal model and the mission environments the thermal and broader vehicle team design against. You define orbital and ground boundary conditions, system thermal budgets, heat-rejection architecture trades, and vehicle-level prediction through ground and TVAC correlation. You sit where incomplete concepts become clear thermal design criteria, partnering with fluids analysts and hardware owners so margins close in analysis, test, and flight.

Responsibilities

• Own the vehicle-level thermal model for Starmind satellites
• Define environments across entire vehicle lifecycle, including ground test, launch, operations, and disposal
• Drive heat-rejection architecture trades: radiator area, mass, optical properties, heater/survival power
• Own the system thermal budget: dissipation allocation, heater loads, min/max temps vs. limits
• Own integrated TVAC/thermal balance tests from inputs, to pre-test prediction, instrumentation selection, live test support, through post-test correlation
• Define component-level thermal inputs for qualification, reliability, and acceptance testing
• Evaluate on-orbit performance to improve model accuracy, drive key hardware upgrades, and increase operational efficiency
• Automate analysis workflows for re-running trades as designs and environments change

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in mechanical, aerospace, or a related engineering discipline
• 5+ years of professional experience in thermal analysis

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Master's degree in mechanical, aerospace, or a related engineering discipline
• Spacecraft or high-power vehicle-level thermal-fluid modeling in Thermal Desktop, SINDA/FLUINT (or equivalent)
• Steady-state and transient analysis under varied environments, workloads and thermal control modes
• Hands on hardware TVAC/thermal testing inclusive of instrumentation selection and model correlation
• Selection of materials and finishes for thermal performance in orbital environments
• Scripting analysis workflows and post-processing (Python preferred)

Additional Requirements

• Ability to work extended hours or weekends as needed for mission critical deadlines
• Some travel may occasionally be required
• U.S. person status required (ITAR): U.S. citizen, national, lawful permanent resident, Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or eligible to obtain required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State