Thermal Engineer

Varda Space Industries • El Segundo, CA

20h • $115,000 - $145,000

About The Position

Low Earth orbit is open for business . Varda is accelerating the development of commercial space infrastructure, from in-orbit pharmaceutical processing to reliable and economical reentry capsules. From life-saving pharmaceuticals to more powerful fiber optics, there is a world of products used on Earth today that can only be manufactured in space. Varda is accelerating innovation in the orbital economy by creating both the products and infrastructure needed so space can directly benefit life on Earth. Our mission is to expand the economic bounds of humankind. Our team is uniquely suited to accomplishing this goal, with leadership and staff comprised of veterans from SpaceX, Blue Origin, major pharmaceutical companies and Silicon Valley. Varda was founded in January 2021 by Will Bruey and Delian Asparouhov with significant backing from world class investors including Khosla Ventures, Lux Capital, Founders Fund, Caffeinated Capital, General Catalyst, and Also Capital. Varda is headquartered in El Segundo, California, where we have offices and a production facility where our vehicles, equipment, and materials are built, integrated, and tested. Varda also has offices in Washington, DC and Huntsville, AL. Join Varda, and work to create a bustling in-space ecosystem. About This Role The Thermal Analysis Engineer serves as a key member of the vehicle engineering team to develop thermal architectures and provide hardware design requirements for all of Varda’s space vehicles . This position will drive spacecraft hardware design and testin g, from the vehicle level down to the component lev el . This highly team-oriented role will provide exposure to all aspects of spacecraft analysis and design

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant technical field with 4+ years experience performing vehicle level spacecraft thermal analysis in Thermal Desktop software.
• Experience performing detailed thermal analysis in programs such as ANSYS static and transient thermal (or equivalent).
• Intermediate level skills in Matlab (or equivalent) for data processing and task automation.
• Ability to provide definition to open ended problems and perform initial sizing with hand calcs in programs such as E xcel.
• Familiarity with thermal margins and test requirements in SMC-S-016
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with an aptitude for interdisciplinary technical communication
• Ability to successfully respond to evolving requirements in a fast-moving organization
• Excitement about making history at the forefront of both the space and pharmaceutical industries

Nice To Haves

• Experience of the entire project lifecycle of a spacecraft, from initial concept to mission success
• Familiarity with typical spacecraft thermal control technologies (e.g. heat pipes, pumped fluid systems, thermal blankets, optical coatings, etc.)
• Project management or project leadership experience
• Master’s degree in an engineering discipline

Responsibilities

• Create and maintain top level Integrated Thermal Analysis models for Varda’s space vehicles.
• Work collaboratively with other spacecraft disciplines to set thermal hardware requirements, such as temperature ranges, conductances, optical properties, etc.
• Create and maintain tools/systems for managing inputs and outputs of the thermal analysis team and distributing temperature predictions and other thermal requirements to the hardware design teams.
• Inform component level acceptance and qualification tests, as well as directing vehicle level TVAC test campaigns.
• Provide thermal guidance to mission operations and hardware decisions.
• Post-flight correlations to assess performance and improve thermal models.

Benefits

• Exciting team of professionals at the top of their field working by your side
• Equity in a fully funded space startup with potential for significant growth (interns excluded)
• 401(k) matching (interns excluded)
• Unlimited PTO (interns excluded)
• Health insurance, including Vision and Dental
• Lunch and snacks provided on site every day.
• Dinners provided twice a week.
• Maternity / Paternity leave (interns excluded)

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level