Thermal Analysis Engineer

Thermal Analysis Engineer

Location: NASA Johnson Space Center, TX Status: Full Time Clearance: Background check and U.S. Citizenship or US Permanent Residency required

Are you passionate about human space exploration, understanding the origins of the universe, and working with a passionate and diverse team to make a difference? If you are, we need you! We have an exciting opportunity for a Thermal Analysis Engineer to join the team. In this position you will support the development, analysis, and verification of thermal control systems that contribute to NASA's human spaceflight missions. The engineer will collaborate closely with NASA customers, subsystem teams, and cross-disciplinary engineering groups to deliver reliable thermal solutions for both crewed and uncrewed vehicles.

Qualification/Skills

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering from an accredited institution.
• At least 2–5 years of relevant engineering experience.
• Experience with thermal analysis tools such as Thermal Desktop, COMSOL, ANSYS Fluent, or similar industry-standard software.
• Strong understanding of heat transfer principles and spacecraft thermal environments.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to collaborate across multiple technical disciplines.
• Ability to assess and validate thermal designs for technical accuracy and requirements compliance.

Desired Qualification/Skills

• 5–10 years of relevant engineering experience.
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering with at least five years of direct engineering experience.
• Experience performing thermal analysis and design for aerospace systems.
• Proficiency with Thermal Desktop is strongly preferred.
• Experience with Passive Thermal Control System (PTCS) or Active Thermal Control System (ATCS) hardware design, analysis, testing, certification, or operations.
• Familiarity with NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) organizations, processes, and procedures.
• Familiarity with the engineering lifecycle and requirements verification processes.
• Demonstrated ability to coordinate support across a wide range of technical disciplines.
• Proven leadership skills with the ability to foster collaboration, provide clear technical direction, and contribute to a culture of accountability and engineering excellence.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain simplified to high-fidelity thermal models using Thermal Desktop, SINDA/FLUINT, and related tools.
• Perform steady-state and transient thermal analyses for spacecraft components, subsystems, and integrated vehicle configurations.
• Evaluate thermal performance across mission phases, including ascent, cruise, lunar orbit, surface operations, and off-nominal scenarios.
• Conduct thermal sensitivity studies in support of vendor vehicle designs, Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) designs, and requirements development.
• Support thermal verification and validation activities, including test planning, thermal vacuum testing, data analysis, and model correlation.
• Collaborate with design teams to optimize Passive Thermal Control System (PTCS) and Active Thermal Control System (ATCS) architectures.
• Provide guidance on thermal design considerations and ensure compliance with NASA requirements and industry best practices.
• Participate in design reviews, technical interchange meetings, and anomaly investigations.
• Review NASA and vendor thermal designs for technical accuracy and requirements compliance.
• Document analysis results, prepare technical reports, and present findings to internal stakeholders and NASA customers.
• Support integration with systems engineering, mission operations, and hardware development teams throughout the engineering lifecycle.