Thermal Engineer, Thermal Protection Systems (TPS)

The Thermal Engineering team enables Andurils rapid hardware development cycle by ensuring advanced defense systems perform reliably in demanding real-world environments. The team works across high-power tightly integrated products where thermal architecture analysis testing and cross-functional design decisions directly affect product performance reliability and mission success.

We are looking for a Thermal Engineer specializing in Thermal Protection Systems (TPS) to join our this role you will own the design analysis and validation of thermal protection for hypersonic and high-speed flight systems operating in extreme aerothermal environments.

This role is ideal for someone with deep expertise in aerothermal heating ablative material response and high-temperature thermal analysis someone who can work across first-principles hand calculations material response modeling and detailed CFD to guide fast high-consequence design decisions for systems where thermal survival is the critical constraint.

What Youll Do

• Own TPS design material selection and thermal analysis for hypersonic and high-speed flight vehicles including missiles reentry systems and advanced flight platforms.
• Perform aerothermal heating analysis using engineering correlations boundary-layer methods and CFD to define the thermal environment across flight trajectories.
• Conduct ablation and material response modeling to predict TPS recession in-depth thermal response and structural thermal margins under mission-representative conditions.
• Evaluate and select TPS materials including carbon phenolic PICA silicone-based ablators ceramics and high-temperature composites based on aerothermal loads mass constraints and manufacturability.
• Partner with aerodynamics structures propulsion and systems engineers to integrate TPS into vehicle design while managing mass volume and performance tradeoffs.
• Define and execute thermal and material characterization tests including arcjet testing furnace testing and instrumented flight-article thermal testing.
• Build and maintain thermal models spanning hand calculations through detailed FEA/CFD to predict system performance establish design limits and support qualification.
• Present TPS status risks tradeoffs and recommendations in internal design reviews and customer-facing technical reviews.
• Support failure reviews and root-cause investigations using test data thermal analysis and first-principles reasoning.

Required Qualifications

• MS or PhD in Aerospace Engineering Mechanical Engineering Applied Physics or a related field with a focus on aerothermodynamics heat transfer thermal sciences or materials science.
• 2 years of experience in TPS design aerothermal analysis or high-temperature material response for aerospace or defense systems.
• Strong first-principles understanding of aerodynamic heating ablation high-temperature heat transfer and material thermal response.
• Experience with material response modeling tools such as FIAT CMA TITAN or equivalent ablation/thermal response codes.
• Experience supporting thermal design for hypersonic vehicles reentry systems missiles rocket nozzles or other systems operating in extreme aerothermal environments.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Top Secret security clearance.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with aerothermal CFD tools such as DPLR US3D Loci-CHEM CFD ANSYS Fluent or STAR-CCM for high-speed reacting flow analysis.
• Experience with arcjet testing thermal characterization testing or flight-article thermal instrumentation.
• Experience with high-temperature materials including carbon phenolic carbon-carbon PICA SLA-561V silicone-based ablators or ceramic matrix composites.
• Experience with radiation modeling tools such as NEQAIR HARA or equivalent nonequilibrium radiation solvers.
• Experience using MATLAB Python or similar tools for trajectory-based heating analysis thermal margin assessment or engineering trade studies.
• Familiarity with NASA TPS heritage tools and databases (TPSX CEA CBAero).
• Experience supporting PDR/CDR qualification testing or flight programs.
• Strong motivation to support Andurils mission of defending the United States and allied partners.

US Salary Range

$140000 - $186000 USD

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