Engineer II, Thermal Designer/Analyst (R4934)
Design and analyze thermal management systems for autonomous aircraft launch and recovery components. Own CFD modeling, testing, and cross-functional integration in a fast-paced defense startup.
About the job
What you'll do
- Own thermal solutions for the autonomous aircraft launch and recovery system
- Develop and validate analytical, numerical, and computational models for heat transfer and fluid flow using hand calculations and CFD tools such as FloEFD
- Prototype, test, and iterate mechanism designs for functionality and reliability
- Provide technical leadership in trade studies, system architecture decisions, and risk assessments
- Drive test planning, instrumentation, and data analysis to correlate models with experimental results
- Proactively identify risks, propose solutions, and influence mechanical, electrical and/or PCBA design direction
- Collaborate with mechanical, electrical, avionics, flight controls, manufacturing, and test teams
- Support pre-production builds, prototype integration, and ground/flight testing on the pathway to production and field deployment
- Participate in design reviews, architecture discussions, and technical decision-making forums related to structural systems
- Identify opportunities to improve design processes, configuration management, and team workflows for increased engineering velocity and design quality
Required qualifications
- B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related discipline
- 2+ years of professional experience in thermal engineering
- Strong expertise in heat transfer (conduction, convection, radiation) and fluid mechanics
- Strong understanding of active and passive cooling solutions and their integration at component and system level
- Understanding of thermal management design elements including TIMs, spreaders, heat sinks, vapor chambers, heat pipes, and fans
- Proficiency with thermal analysis and CFD tools (e.g., ANSYS Icepak, FloEFD, STAR-CCM+)
- Experience with CAD design tools such as NX, SolidWorks, or similar
- Demonstrated experience applying first-principles reasoning to complex engineering problems
- Strong written and verbal communication skills
- Proven ability to learn and adapt quickly to new tools, processes, and technical challenges in a fast paced, startup environment
- A demonstrated record of working hard, being trustworthy, holding yourself to high standards, and being kind to others
Preferred qualifications
- M.S. in a relevant engineering discipline
- Hands-on experience with thermal and fluid system testing, instrumentation, and validation
- Knowledge of materials and manufacturing methods relevant to thermal management
- MIL-STD-810, structural, or actuated mechanism testing experience
- Ability to thrive in startup, R&D, or defense innovation environments
Skills
Thermal Engineering, Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics, Cfd, Floefd, Ansys Icepak, Star-Ccm+, Nx, Solidworks, CAD
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