Staff Thermal Engineer Verified today
About the role
Vast is developing next-generation space stations and space infrastructure. Haven Demo's 2025 success made Vast the only operational commercial space station company to fly and operate its own spacecraft. Haven-1 is expected to become the world's first commercial space station when it launches in 2027.
You will be a Staff Thermal Engineer reporting to the Senior Manager, Thermal Analysis, supporting the development of systems required for the design and build of human-rated space stations. This is a full-time, exempt position in Long Beach, California.
What you will do
- Develop thermal systems requirements
- Perform thermal analysis to develop and optimize thermal control designs and provide solutions to complex problems
- Coordinate and partner with other engineering disciplines
- Document thermal analyses and designs
- Review and approve drawings for thermal design hardware content
- Report results of analyses and design specifics to internal management and external customers
- Work with test engineering to plan and execute subsystem level thermal tests, especially thermal vacuum chamber (TVAC) testing, and perform associated analyses
- Provide feedback regarding impacts of possible cost and schedule changes
What you need
- Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Physics, or related Engineering discipline with minimum 10+ years of related professional work experience, or Master's degree in a related engineering discipline and 5+ years of experience
- Knowledge and understanding of the application of technical principles, theories, and concepts for developing active thermal control systems
- Expert proficiency with Thermal Desktop
- Extensive experience with TVAC testing
Preferred experience
- Design, analysis and integration experience of spacecraft thermal systems
- Experience with other thermal analysis tools: FloCAD, Ansys Mechanical, SINDA/G, SINDA/FLUINT, TSS
- Experience using fluid analysis tools: Ansys Fluent, FloEFD, StarCCM+
- Experience using aerospace standard design tools: NX, CATIA, CREO
- Space vehicle thermal design and integration
- Active and passive thermal control systems and technologies including pumped fluid loops and heat pipes
- Spacecraft and payload background through entire system lifecycle from concept, design, production, integration, test, launch, to operation support
- Ability to develop novel concepts for active thermal control systems for space habitats
Compensation
Pay range: $175,480 to $249,096 USD, based on experience and demonstrated capability. Full-time employees receive company equity and comprehensive benefits including medical, dental, and vision coverage; paid time off with 20+ vacation days for exempt staff; paid parental leave; short and long-term disability insurance; life insurance; 401(k) retirement plan; ClassPass credits; mental healthcare through Spring Health; and free food perks including snacks, coffee, cold drinks, and dinner, with subsidized lunch.
Export control requirement
You must be a U.S. person as defined by 22 C.F.R. section 120.62, which includes U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, lawful permanent residents, and asylees and refugees with such status granted, not pending. This is required due to access to export-controlled information and items.