Thermal Protection Systems Test & Dev Eng (Aerospace)

Location: Houston, TX, US; on-site work supporting the JETS II contract at Johnson Space Center.

Company

Intuitive Machines is a space company developing cislunar systems and supporting NASA and private lunar missions; this role is associated with hirify.global.

What you will do

• Develop, evaluate, and mature thermal protection system materials, components, and concepts for aerospace and hypersonic entry applications.
• Plan, execute, and interpret thermal, environmental, mechanical, and performance tests of TPS materials and hardware.
• Design test articles, fixtures, instrumentation approaches, and test procedures.
• Support reusable TPS technologies, including attachment approaches, inspection techniques, maintenance concepts, and refurbishment processes.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary engineering teams to resolve TPS development challenges.
• Analyze and communicate technical results through reports, presentations, design reviews, and engineering analyses.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, materials engineering, chemical engineering, physics, or a related technical discipline.
• Experience in engineering, a related field, laboratory research, engineering development projects, testing, or hardware-focused technical work.
• Knowledge of engineering fundamentals applicable to thermal protection systems, high-temperature materials, hypersonic entry systems, aerospace hardware, or related fields.
• Strong problem-solving and technical communication skills.
• Ability to work effectively within multidisciplinary engineering teams.
• Initiative, technical curiosity, and willingness to take ownership of challenging engineering problems.
• The position is posted at multiple levels; consideration may be based on experience, qualifications, and business needs.

Nice to have

• Experience with ceramics, glasses, coatings, insulation systems, attachment systems, or reusable TPS architectures.
• Experience with environmental and high-temperature testing, including torch, radiant heating, arc-heated, or similar testing.
• Experience with materials characterization, experimental methods, ceramic materials, and other high-temperature materials.
• Experience designing, fabricating, or integrating engineering hardware, test articles, fixtures, instrumentation, or experimental equipment.
• Experience interpreting test results and correlating experimental data with engineering analyses.
• Working knowledge of TPS analysis methods, thermal modeling, or test-to-analysis correlation.
• Advanced degree (M.S. or Ph.D.) in a relevant engineering or scientific discipline.
• Interest in developing, testing, and implementing next-generation aerospace technologies.

Culture & Benefits

• Full-time employment within a multidisciplinary aerospace engineering environment.
• Work supports NASA and private lunar missions and the development of future aerospace systems.
• Equal Opportunity employment is provided without discrimination based on protected characteristics.