Thermal Flight Operations Engineer, Amazon Leo (Satellites)

Amazon Leo is Amazons low Earth orbit satellite network. Our mission is to deliver fast reliable internet connectivity to customers beyond the reach of existing networks. From individual households to schools hospitals businesses and government agencies Amazon Leo will serve people and organizations operating in locations without reliable connectivity.


Amazon Leos Thermal team seeks a Thermal Flight Operations Engineer to support the full mission lifecycle of Amazon Leos satellite constellation -- from ground operations and pre-launch verification through early mission checkouts and commissioning on-orbit thermal monitoring and management and eventual descent and decommissioning. This role works with Amazon Leos Mission Operations team and Thermal team to ensure the safe and effective operation of each satellites mission.

The Thermal Flight Operations Engineer serves as the operational liaison between Mission Operations and the Thermal team. The role combines hands-on execution of approved thermal responses with the continuous development of automation monitoring tools and operational procedures for the Thermal team.

A significant portion of the position focuses on building and improving automated capabilities -- scripted procedures telemetry dashboards alerting systems and tools that scale with the growing constellation. This work requires close collaboration with Thermal Design Engineers and other subsystem operators to ensure all solutions remain within established safety margins and operational parameters.

The role also involves active participation in troubleshooting in-flight thermal anomalies alongside subject matter experts and contributing flight data back to the design team for model correlation and continuous improvement of thermal predictions.

Given that constellation operations run continuously throughout the year this position requires flexibility in work scheduling. The role operates on standard business hours with rotating on-call responsibilities; launch support may require shifts at scheduled times outside normal hours.


Export Control Requirement: Due to applicable export control laws and regulations candidates must be a U.S. citizen or national U.S. permanent resident (i.e. current Green Card holder) or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum.

Key job responsibilities
Operations Engineering
- Execute defined thermal operational responses (load switch resets thermal mode transitions attitude constraint coordination)
- Monitor and assess thermal system health across the constellation using telemetry data and automated dashboards
- Track temperature trends and thermal margin against approved limits for thermally-critical components
- Investigate and troubleshoot in-flight thermal anomalies (unexpected temperature excursions heater failures degraded performance FDIR)
- Escalate to Thermal Responsible Engineers for scenarios where existing automation or runbooks do not apply
- Document operational instructions and procedures

Automation & Software Development
- Develop and enhance operational procedures both manual and automated (i.e. software development in Python or similar)
- Build and maintain automated alerts for thermal limit exceedances margin degradation and anomalous behavior
- Develop dashboards and telemetry analysis tools that scale with the growing constellation
- Support development of tools leveraging flight data correlation with thermal models
- Formulate responses to new operational scenarios for review and approval

Risk Management & System Health
- Identify and assess thermal operational risks
- Collaborate in the definition of risk mitigations owning their implementation and in-space execution
- Apply and scale mechanisms to assess thermal system health and margin during all mission phases
- Contribute to improvements of thermal system concepts of operations (CONOPs)

Schedule Availability Requirements
- Launch support includes rotating shifts at scheduled launch times which may occur outside normal business hours
- Respond to needs for 24/7 on-call support on a rotating basis


About the team
Amazon Leos Thermal Team is responsible for the thermal control solutions for all components in Amazon Leos satellites and customer terminals. The team works with many engineering disciplines (e.g. mechanical power electrical network manufacturing) to find designs that maximize performance while minimizing mass cost and manufacturing complexity and enabling all components to operate reliably over the satellites target lifetime. The team follows all hardware components from conceptual design through detailed analysis development testing launch and flight.

- Bachelors degree
- 3 years of industry work experience in thermal engineering spacecraft operations or systems engineering
- Proficiency in at least one programming language (Python or similar)
- Experience working with version control systems
- Experience with real-time system monitoring and anomaly response
- Demonstrated ability to execute technical procedures and follow operational protocols
- Experience with data analysis tools and software
- Familiarity with fundamentals of heat transfer and thermodynamics
- Ability to work flexible shifts for launch support including nights weekends and holidays
- Ability to respond to urgent on-call situations

- Bachelor of Science degree (or equivalent skills/experience) in Mechanical Engineering Aerospace Engineering Physics Computer Science or related discipline
- Experience with spacecraft thermal control systems (heaters thermistors radiators heat pipes MLI)
- Experience interpreting on-orbit thermal telemetry data
- Experience operating or supporting spacecraft mission operations
- Experience with constellation or distributed systems operations at scale
- Experience developing automated monitoring alerting or data pipeline systems
- Understanding of orbital mechanics concepts relevant to thermal environments (beta angle eclipse cycles solar flux variation)
- Familiarity with spacecraft thermal testing (thermal vacuum thermal cycling) and how test data informs flight operations.

Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status disability or other legally protected status.

Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you have a disability and need a workplace accommodation or adjustment during the application and hiring process including support for the interview or onboarding process please visit for more information. If the country/region youre applying in isnt listed please contact your Recruiting Partner.

The base salary range for this position is listed below. Your Amazon package will include sign-on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs). Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience qualifications and location. Amazon also offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance (medical dental vision prescription Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans EAP Mental Health Support Medical Advice Line Flexible Spending Accounts Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage) 401(k) matching paid time off and parental leave. Learn more about our benefits at WA Redmond - 129200.00 - 174800.00 USD annually