Engineer II, Avionics Thermal Engineering (AI/Aerospace)

Location: On-site in Seattle, Washington or San Diego, California, United States

Company

hirify.global develops AI and aircraft products, including unmanned aerial vehicle systems.

What you will do

• Design, analyze, test, and integrate thermal solutions for unmanned aerial vehicle avionics.
• Develop and validate analytical, numerical, and computational heat-transfer and fluid-flow models using hand calculations and CFD tools.
• Lead thermal trade studies, system architecture decisions, and risk assessments.
• Plan tests, define instrumentation, analyze data, and correlate models with experimental results.
• Guide cross-disciplinary teams and communicate technical findings through design reviews and written reports.
• Identify thermal risks and influence electrical and PCBA design direction.

Requirements

• B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related discipline.
• At least 2 years of professional experience in avionics or electronics thermal engineering.
• Strong knowledge of heat transfer, fluid mechanics, active and passive cooling, and component- and system-level thermal integration.
• Experience with thermal management components such as TIMs, spreaders, heat sinks, vapor chambers, heat pipes, and fans.
• Proficiency with CFD and thermal analysis tools such as ANSYS Icepak, FloEFD, or STAR-CCM+, plus CAD tools such as NX or SolidWorks.
• Strong first-principles problem-solving, written and verbal communication, and ability to adapt to new tools and technical challenges.

Nice to have

• M.S. in a relevant engineering discipline.
• Experience with high-altitude aircraft avionics cooling and thermal design.
• Familiarity with aircraft integration constraints involving power, weight, volume, maintainability, and safety.
• Hands-on experience with thermal and fluid-system testing, instrumentation, and validation.
• Knowledge of thermal-management materials and manufacturing methods.

Culture & Benefits

• Work in a fast-paced startup environment.
• Collaborate with mission-driven, values-focused, and cross-disciplinary teams.
• Address open-ended engineering challenges through first-principles reasoning.