Senior Thermal Protection Engineer

Senior Mechanical Engineer - Thermal Protection Systems (TPS)

Location: Irvine, CA

Salary: up to $200,000 Gross Per Annum + Wide range of benefits + RSU

A growing advanced materials company in Southern California is looking for a Senior Mechanical Engineer to take ownership of thermal protection system (TPS) hardware for space, hypersonic and re-entry programmes. The company designs and manufactures specialised materials and components for demanding defence and commercial platforms, supporting its customers from early concept through production and sustainment.

You’ll take TPS components and subassemblies from requirements definition through to delivered hardware, working closely with aerothermal, design, materials, test and manufacturing teams. You’ll also be the company’s go‑to technical expert on TPS, helping to shape new products and lead the technical side of proposals as the business grows its defence portfolio.

Key responsibilities

• Own TPS components and subassemblies end to end, from initial requirements through to final hardware delivery.
• Lead material trade studies that balance thermal survivability, structural integrity and manufacturing realities for hypersonic regimes.
• Translate heat flux and aero loads into robust mechanical designs, working alongside aerothermal, design, materials and test colleagues.
• Develop detailed CAD, drawings and ICDs, and work directly with the manufacturing floor to make sure parts are built to specification.
• Support test campaigns such as arc‑jet testing, reduce raw data quickly, and use the results to iterate designs.
• Act as the resident TPS subject matter expert, keeping up to date with current and next‑generation technologies.
• Lead technical sections of proposals and new product development to support the company’s growth in defence.

Essential experience

• At least four years of direct experience designing and owning TPS components or assemblies qualified through flight or high‑enthalpy testing, such as arc‑jet facilities at NASA Ames or AEDC.
• Broad knowledge of TPS materials and architectures, including thermal blankets, ablative carbon composites, rigid ceramics and cryogenic insulation for re-entry and hypersonic environments.
• Full lifecycle design experience, taking hardware from concept through manufacturing, including 3D CAD modelling, drawing release and GD&T.
• A strong foundation in structural mechanics, materials science, thermodynamics, heat transfer and ablation mechanics.
• A track record of delivering hardware on accelerated schedules through pragmatic engineering.
• Clear communication across multidisciplinary teams.
• An active Secret clearance or higher, or the ability to obtain and maintain one.