Thermal Engineer (Aerospace)

Location: Los Angeles, United States; in-person collaboration at the Playa Vista office

Salary: $125,000–$155,000 annual base salary, excluding additional benefits

Company

hirify.global manufactures spacecraft and satellite buses at scale using software, vertically integrated hardware, and manufacturing-focused design.

What you will do

• Develop and maintain spacecraft-level thermal models using Ansys Thermal Desktop and other analytical tools.
• Design and optimize thermal control systems for avionics, electro-mechanical components, and spacecraft structures.
• Plan and manage thermal vacuum and thermal cycling testing, including instrumentation and model correlation.
• Develop passive and active thermal management hardware such as radiators, heaters, heat pipes, and coatings.
• Evaluate thermal analysis results against Mil-Standard, Aerospace TOR, and vendor requirements.
• Support subsystem milestone reviews and oversee thermal flight hardware integration and quality control.

Requirements

• 3+ years of experience in radiative and conductive thermal modeling of spacecraft systems using Thermal Desktop or similar software.
• Strong understanding of thermal margins and aerospace thermal control standards.
• Experience selecting, sizing, and designing heat pipes, heaters, OSR, SSM, MLI, TEC, thermal paints, and thermal tapes.
• At least 1 year of experience with thermal cycling and thermal vacuum testing, including setup, instrumentation, and model correlation.

Nice to have

• Experience with full-vehicle thermal vacuum testing and thermal model correlation.
• Familiarity with two-phase spacecraft thermal control systems, PCBA thermal modeling, and thermal interface materials.
• Experience with integrated spacecraft and launch vehicle thermal analysis.
• Proficiency in Python, C/C++, or Matlab for thermal modeling and automation.
• Understanding of SMC-S016 standards, Atlassian tools, and engineering workflows.

Culture & Benefits

• Fast-growing startup with more than $500M in funding and equity participation.
• 100% company-paid medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and dependents, plus life insurance.
• Paid time off starting at 15 vacation days, additional paid holidays, and 8 weeks of paid parental leave.
• Competitive 401(k) matching, childcare reimbursement for work-related travel, catered lunch, and snacks.
• In-person collaboration, office events, productivity equipment, and opportunities to work on spacecraft with aerospace experts.