Mid to Senior Spacecraft and Optical Payload Thermal Engineer

Job ID: 9758
Date Posted: October,12 2026

The Space Dynamics Laboratory (SDL) is seeking an experienced Engineer to develop, analyze, integrate, and verify thermal-control solutions for NASA and DoW small satellites and precision optical payloads, from low Earth orbit to planetary missions. The engineer will support concept and requirements development, thermal architecture trades, preliminary and critical design reviews (PDR/CDR), flight-hardware build and integration, thermal-vacuum (TVAC) testing, thermal-balance model correlation, payload calibration, and flight delivery. Depending on experience, the engineer may serve as a thermal or mechanical project technical lead and support proposals.

Key Responsibilities

• Owns or contributes to spacecraft and optical-payload thermal architectures, requirements, interface definitions, trade studies, and thermal-control hardware selection
• Develops, maintains, and documents steady-state and transient thermal math models; evaluates orbital environments, operational cases, temperature limits, gradients, and design margins
• Prepares thermal analyses, verification matrices, design-review packages, and technical presentations for SRR, PDR, CDR, and test readiness reviews
• Works with mechanical, optical, electrical, systems, manufacturing, and integration teams to translate analysis into producible flight designs and resolve thermal interfaces
• Plans and supports thermal-balance and TVAC tests, including test configurations, instrumentation, procedures, chamber operations, anomaly resolution, data reduction, and model correlation
• Supports optical-payload TVAC calibration, thermal stability verification, as-built configuration evaluation, and flight acceptance/qualification activities
• Provides technical judgment on design margins, assumptions, risks, verification closure, and corrective actions; mentor less-experienced engineers as appropriate

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a closely related technical field
• At least five years of relevant thermal engineering experience
• Demonstrated spacecraft, spaceflight payload, or closely comparable aerospace hardware thermal-design and analysis experience, including steady-state and transient modeling
• Proficiency in Thermal Desktop/SINDA/FLUINT or comparable spacecraft thermal-analysis tools, including independent model development, documentation, and interpretation
• Experience supporting formal engineering design reviews such as PDR/CDR, with thermal requirements, margins, trades, and verification products
• Experience planning, executing, analyzing, or correlating thermal-vacuum or thermal-balance tests of aerospace hardware
• Ability to collaborate across disciplines, communicate results clearly, defend engineering assumptions, and solve hardware-related thermal problems
• Must be a U.S. citizen and able to obtain a U.S. Government security clearance

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, or a related field
• More than ten years of directly relevant experience
• Demonstrated end-to-end ownership of a spacecraft or payload thermal subsystem from concept through integration, environmental qualification, and flight delivery
• Experience with precision optical or infrared payloads, detector/focal-plane thermal management, thermal gradients, thermally induced alignment changes, and temperature stability
• Experience with optical-payload TVAC calibration, test-data reduction, thermal-model correlation, and test anomaly resolution
• Hands-on design/integration experience with MLI, radiators, thermal coatings, heat pipes, thermal straps, heaters, thermostats, sensors, and conductive interfaces
• Experience with cryocoolers, cryogenic instruments, or actively controlled optical assemblies
• Familiarity with NASA, DoD, or ECSS spacecraft thermal verification and environmental test practices
• Experience using Python, MATLAB, or similar tools for thermal analysis automation and test-data processing
• Experience leading multidisciplinary technical efforts, mentoring engineers, and contributing to proposal estimates and thermal-design approaches

Salary Range

• $102,000 - $160,000
  • Salary commensurate on education and relevant experience

This range serves as a general guideline and may vary based on factors such as role, level, location, market conditions, and individual qualifications, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. The range displayed in the job advertisement reflects the minimum and maximum target salaries across all US locations. Specific salary details for a candidate’s preferred location can be provided by the recruiter or HR manager during the hiring process.

Why Join SDL?
*SDL offers competitive salaries and a comprehensive benefits package. Visit our Benefits Page to learn more about what we offer.

SDL delivers advanced multi-domain solutions to protect national security and enable scientific discovery. Our expertise in satellites, sensors and instruments, ground systems and data processing, and autonomous systems plays a critical role in missions supporting NASA and the Department of Defense. Join our team of engineers, scientists, technicians, and business professionals in our seventh decade of delivering mission success.

At SDL, we strive to uphold a culture of respect, collaboration, empowerment, and accountability. We listen with open minds, seek to understand diverse perspectives, and engage in thoughtful dialogue. We work together by sharing knowledge, involving others, and offering support. We trust and empower our team members to take ownership, act with integrity, and be accountable. Above all, we deliver on our commitments to each other and to our mission partners.

The application window for this position is expected to remain open for approximately 7 days; however, it may be shortened or extended depending on business needs and the availability of qualified candidates. We encourage interested candidates to submit their applications promptly.
 

For questions, assistance, or accommodation with the application process or the DoD SkillBridge program, please contact [email protected].