Thermal Engineer, Thermal Protection Systems (TPS)

Anduril
California
Workplace: OnsiteFull timeUSD 129,000 - 171,000 annuallyFunction: Communications, PR & CommunityExperience: 2+ yearsEducation: mastersSkills: ["First-principles reasoning","Cross-functional collaboration","Risk management","Technical communication"]

Own the end-to-end design, analysis, and validation of thermal protection systems for hypersonic and high-speed flight vehicles. Perform aerothermal heating and ablation/material response modeling using correlations and CFD, select TPS materials, and build thermal models from hand calculations through FEA/CFD. Partner across aerodynamics, structures, propulsion, and systems to integrate mass/volume/performance tradeoffs, run characterization tests, and support reviews and failure root-cause investigations.

Loading

Loading job details...

Preparing the role view and application actions.

FursaFursa
Anduril
Anduril
16 hours ago

Thermal Engineer, Thermal Protection Systems (TPS)

✓ Verified Job

Canonical indexed version, validated from employer's careers page.

Source: Company careers pageValidated by: Fursa AI
Last checked: 8 hours agoStatus: Live

Job Summary

Own the end-to-end design, analysis, and validation of thermal protection systems for hypersonic and high-speed flight vehicles. Perform aerothermal heating and ablation/material response modeling using correlations and CFD, select TPS materials, and build thermal models from hand calculations through FEA/CFD. Partner across aerodynamics, structures, propulsion, and systems to integrate mass/volume/performance tradeoffs, run characterization tests, and support reviews and failure root-cause investigations.
Location: California
Workplace: Onsite
Employment Type: Full time
Job Function: Communications, PR & Community
Seniority: Mid level

Key Responsibilities

  • •Own TPS design, material selection, and thermal analysis for hypersonic and high-speed flight vehicles including missiles and reentry systems.
  • •Perform aerothermal heating analysis using engineering correlations, boundary-layer methods, and CFD across flight trajectories.
  • •Conduct ablation and material response modeling to predict TPS recession, in-depth thermal response, and structural thermal margins under mission-representative conditions.
  • •Define and execute thermal and material characterization tests, including arcjet testing, furnace testing, and instrumented flight-article thermal testing.
  • •Present TPS status, risks, tradeoffs, and recommendations; support failure reviews and root-cause investigations using test data and thermal analysis.

Pay and Benefits

Salary: USD 129,000 - 171,000 annually
Equity and Bonus:Equity

Key Requirements

  • •MS or PhD in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Applied Physics, or a related field focused on aerothermodynamics, heat transfer, thermal sciences, or materials science.
  • •2+ years of experience in TPS design, aerothermal analysis, or high-temperature material response for aerospace or defense systems.
  • •Strong first-principles understanding of aerodynamic heating, ablation, high-temperature heat transfer, and material thermal response.
  • •Experience with material response modeling tools such as FIAT, CMA, TITAN, or equivalent ablation/thermal response codes.
  • •Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Top Secret security clearance.
Experience:2+ yearsAerospaceDefense
Education:Master's
Skills:First-principles reasoningCross-functional collaborationRisk managementTechnical communication
Tech Stack:FIATCMATITANDPLRUS3DLoci-CHEMCFD++ANSYS FluentSTAR-CCM+NEQAIRHARAMATLABPythonFEACFDNASA TPSXCEACBAeroArcjet testingFurnace testing

Eligibility

Security Clearance:Top Secret

Company Brief

Anduril
Designs and builds advanced defense systems combining autonomous aircraft, sensors, and AI-driven software for military and national security applications, focused on modernizing battlefield capabilities and distributed sensing.
Industry: Defense Technology
Company Size: Enterprise (1,001+ employees)
Growth: Scaleup
Valuation: Unicorn (USD 1B+)
Funding: Series E+
Headquarters: Costa Mesa, United States
Founded: 2017
WebsiteLinkedIn