Sr. Thermal Engineer - Spacecraft Analysis, AI Satellites (Starmind)

Bastrop, TX

SpaceX was founded under the belief that a future where humanity is out exploring the stars is fundamentally more exciting than one where we are not. Today SpaceX is actively developing the technologies to make this possible, with the ultimate goal of enabling human life on Mars.

SR. THERMAL ENGINEER (SPACECRAFT ANALYSIS), AI SATELLITES (STARMIND)

SpaceX is leveraging its experience deploying and operating the world’s largest satellite constellation to develop Starmind, a new constellation of satellites capturing solar energy in space to power low-cost, high-performance AI compute for Earth. Scaling AI in space is a thermal problem as much as a power and processing problem. With a dense compute payload dissipating hundreds of kilowatts, the thermal system must efficiently transfer heat to large radiators that reject it to space, under solar load, eclipse, and multi-mode AI duty cycles.

You will join the Starmind Thermal team, which owns the satellite cooling stack end-to-end. Dense AI compute at hundreds of kilowatts, rejected only by radiation under solar load, eclipse, and multi-mode duty cycles, has never been flown at constellation scale, and the vehicle-level thermal model is how that problem gets defined for everyone else. As a Senior Thermal Engineer focused on spacecraft analysis, you own that model and the mission environments the thermal and broader vehicle team design against: orbital and ground boundary conditions, system thermal budgets, heat-rejection architecture trades, and vehicle-level prediction through ground and TVAC correlation (with flight telemetry as the program matures). You sit where incomplete concepts become clear thermal design criteria, partnering with fluids analysts and hardware owners so margins close in analysis, test, and flight.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

  • Own the vehicle-level thermal model for Starmind satellites
  • Define environments across entire vehicle lifecycle, including ground test, launch, operations, and disposal
  • Drive heat-rejection architecture trades: radiator area, mass, optical properties, heater/survival power
  • Own the system thermal budget: dissipation allocation, heater loads, min/max temps vs. limits
  • Own integrated TVAC/thermal balance tests from inputs, to pre-test prediction, instrumentation selection, live test support, through post-test correlation.
  • Define component-level thermal inputs for qualification, reliability, and acceptance testing.
  • Evaluate on-orbit performance to improve model accuracy, drive key hardware upgrades, and increase operational efficiency
  • Automate analysis workflows for re-running trades as designs and environments change

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

  • Bachelor’s degree in mechanical, aerospace, or a related engineering discipline
  • 5+ years of professional experience in thermal analysis

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

  • Master’s degree in mechanical, aerospace, or a related engineering discipline
  • Spacecraft or high-power vehicle-level thermal-fluid modeling in Thermal Desktop, SINDA/FLUINT (or equivalent)
  • Steady-state and transient analysis under varied environments, workloads and thermal control modes
  • Hands on hardware TVAC/thermal testing inclusive of instrumentation selection and model correlation
  • Selection of materials and finishes for thermal performance in orbital environments
  • Scripting analysis workflows and post-processing (Python preferred)

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

  • Ability to work extended hours or weekends as needed for mission critical deadlines
  • Some travel may occasionally be required

ITAR REQUIREMENTS:

  • To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.  

SpaceX is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with SpaceX is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

Applicants wishing to view a copy of SpaceX’s Affirmative Action Plan for veterans and individuals with disabilities, or applicants requiring reasonable accommodation to the application/interview process should reach out to EEOCompliance@spacex.com. 

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To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about ITAR here.

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