Principal Thermal Design Engineer (Spacecraft Thermal Design)

Location: Los Angeles, California, United States. The role involves access to ITAR-controlled information and requires the hire to be a U.S. person or otherwise eligible for a federally issued export control license.

Base salary: $175,000–$295,000 per year, plus equity.

Company

hirify.global develops high-power satellite platforms for commercial and U.S. government missions from low Earth orbit to deep space.

What you will do

• Lead detailed thermal design and analysis of spacecraft subsystems at component and spacecraft level.
• Develop passive and active thermal control hardware, including radiators, heaters, heat pipes, coatings, thermal straps, and insulation systems.
• Build thermal models and define thermal tests for electronic assemblies in partnership with Mechanical and Avionics teams.
• Analyze nominal and contingency thermal cases for in-orbit spacecraft operations with GNC teams.
• Interface with vendors and launch providers to translate designs into thermal requirements.
• Set up and execute development and qualification thermal testing, including thermal cycling and thermal vacuum testing.

Requirements

• 8+ years of experience in satellite thermal design and analysis.
• Demonstrated experience with radiative and conductive spacecraft thermal modeling using Thermal Desktop.
• Experience selecting, sizing, and designing thermal control hardware such as heat pipes, heaters, OSR, thermal straps, thermal paints, tapes, MLI, and TEC.
• Experience with thermal cycling and thermal vacuum testing, including predictions, setup, instrumentation, and thermal model correlation.
• Must meet U.S. export-control eligibility requirements: be a U.S. person or otherwise eligible for a federally issued export control license.

Nice to have

• Full-vehicle thermal vacuum testing and model correlation experience.
• Experience optimizing spacecraft thermal design for cost, reliability, performance, and manufacturability.
• Experience with integrated spacecraft and rocket thermal analysis or solar panel thermal modeling.
• Experience with electrical PCBA thermal modeling, thermal interface materials, and primary radiator design.
• Familiarity with SMC-S016 or an equivalent standard, and experience with Python, C/C++, or Matlab for thermal modeling and automated data analysis.

Culture & Benefits

• High-growth Series D-funded aerospace company building and mass-producing high-power satellite platforms.
• Equity in the company.
• Paid time off and paid parental leave.
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• Life insurance and additional employee perks.