Principal Thermal Control System (TCS) Design Engineer

TL;DR

Principal Thermal Control System (TCS) Design Engineer (Aerospace): Lead the design of active and passive thermal control systems for high-power satellites using heat transfer and mechanical equations to size fluid loops, pumps, and cold plates with an accent on architecture iteration, testing campaigns, and production scalability. Focus on developing pump fluid loops, thermal-vacuum testing, data acquisition systems, and control scripts for reliable verification.

Location: Los Angeles, CA (onsite)

Salary: $175,000 - $220,000 + equity

Company

Building the largest and highest-power satellites ever flown for LEO to deep space, backed by $450M from leading investors with $500M in contracts.

What you will do

• Own end-to-end architecture, development, and lifecycle of spacecraft TCS across R&D and production.
• Lead design, integration, and verification of active/passive solutions including pump-driven fluid loops and heat pipes.
• Define thermal strategies, procure long-lead items, and develop testing campaigns for thermal cycles and TVAC.
• Setup test stands, instrumentation, data acquisition, and control scripts for pump loops and components.
• Drive cross-functional alignment with mechanical, electrical, and manufacturing teams for scalable designs.
• Conduct trade studies, risk assessments, document results, and ensure design for manufacturability.

Requirements

• U.S. Person required (ITAR compliance)
• 6+ years thermal test experience in high-rate manufacturing.
• 4+ years sizing and testing fluid systems (pumps, valves, accumulators, heat exchangers, cold plates).
• Demonstrated data acquisition for thermal/power applications.
• Strong thermal and TVAC testing including setup, instrumentation, troubleshooting.
• Test plan development and execution; basic/statistical data analysis.

Nice to have

• Knowledge of NX or AutoCAD for test fixtures.
• Thermal Desktop or equivalent for fluid heat transfer.
• Experience with signal conditioning, pumps testing, avionics, refrigeration systems.

Culture & Benefits

• Comprehensive benefits: paid time off, medical/dental/vision, life insurance, paid parental leave.
• Equity in the company.
• Fast-paced startup environment focused on groundbreaking space missions.
• Encourages non-traditional career paths and reasonable accommodations.