Spacecraft Thermal Engineer (I/II)

Location: Irvine, California, United States. The role operates in a professional office and manufacturing environment and may include off-hours or on-call work during spacecraft build and testing campaigns. Applicants must be U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, protected individuals, or eligible to obtain required U.S. Department of State authorizations; a current or obtainable U.S. national security clearance may be required.

Salary: $80,000–$130,000 per year, with level-specific ranges of $80,000–$100,000 for Associate Spacecraft Thermal Engineer and $100,000–$130,000 for Spacecraft Thermal Engineer.

Company

hirify.global manufactures satellite products and provides end-to-end satellite solutions for aerospace, defense, civil, and commercial missions.

What you will do

• Develop spacecraft thermal configurations and models from concept development through design reviews, verification, production, and operations.
• Identify thermal design constraints and recommend risk-mitigation strategies across spacecraft systems, subsystems, avionics, and mechanisms.
• Translate spacecraft CONOPS into thermal design scenarios and predict temperature margins across space environments and orbital regimes.
• Develop thermal verification test plans, support thermal and vacuum testing, and correlate test results with model predictions.
• Create tools for concept trade studies and post-processing analysis, and prepare technical documents and presentations for managers, customers, and stakeholders.
• Support technical leadership, proposals, white papers, requests for information, build integration, and engineering anomaly resolution.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical or aerospace engineering with a thermal focus, or a similar discipline.
• 0+ years of spacecraft thermal engineering experience for Level I or 2+ years for Level II; a master’s degree substitutes for two years of experience and a Ph.D. substitutes for five years.
• U.S. citizenship or qualifying U.S. status and the ability to obtain and maintain required U.S. security and export authorizations.
• Proficiency with Thermal Desktop and experience developing detailed and simplified spacecraft thermal models.
• Understanding of radiation and conduction heat transfer, space-environment heating, orbital mechanics, spacecraft mission design, thermal design management, surface treatments, and thermal vacuum testing.
• Experience with CAD software such as SolidWorks and computational scripting languages such as MATLAB, Python, or Mathematica; team leadership and mentoring experience is required.

Nice to have

• Experience with technical leadership, risk-reduction teams, subject-area expertise, engineering review boards, NCRs, and engineering anomaly resolution.
• Experience integrating and testing propulsion, thermal, electrical, and structural systems, including vibration, shock, thermal, vacuum, and radiation testing.
• Production experience in the space or aerospace industry.

Culture & Benefits

• Fast-paced startup environment with opportunities to lead and contribute on a small team.
• Company-paid medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and dependents.
• 401(k) matching and flexible time off.
• Education reimbursement, paid parental leave, covered life insurance, and employee referral benefits.
• Work includes substantial computer usage and occasional lifting of objects up to 25 pounds.