Rocket Lab Corporation
Spacecraft Thermal Engineer I/II
About this role
Rocket Lab seeks a Spacecraft Thermal Engineer (I or II level) in Long Beach to design, analyze, test, and validate thermal systems for space vehicles. You'll perform thermal modeling, conduct design trade studies, resolve thermal issues, and collaborate across engineering teams to support ambitious space missions.
What you'll do
- Perform thermal modeling and analysis of spacecraft and vehicles
- Conduct thermal design trade studies balancing performance, resources, risk, cost, and schedule
- Identify and resolve thermal design and performance issues for space vehicle components
- Design and execute thermal testing for components and assemblies
- Validate thermal models using test and in-flight data
- Research and liaise with thermal control material vendors and cross-functional teams
What they're looking for
- Thermal engineering and heat transfer analysis
- Thermal modeling and simulation software
- Thermal systems design and passive thermal management
- Thermal testing planning and data analysis
- Siemens NX and Teamcenter CAD/PLM tools
- Thermal Desktop software
- Technical communication and stakeholder collaboration
- Problem-solving and design trade-off analysis
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Rocket Lab Corporation
Rocket Lab builds spacecraft and satellites that it launches on its own rockets, developing the avionics, flight software, and ground systems needed to operate these vehicles in orbit. The company is hiring software engineers, test automation specialists, and spacecraft operations engineers to develop embedded flight software, design testing systems, and manage satellite fleet health across commercial and government missions.
View all jobs at Rocket Lab CorporationLikely interview questions
- Walk us through your experience developing and validating thermal models for spacecraft or aerospace applications.
- Describe a time you identified a thermal design issue in a component or assembly and how you resolved it.