Thermal Engineer, Thermal Protection Systems (TPS)

Anduril
Mountain View
Full timeUSD 140,000 - 186,000 annuallyFunction: Communications, PR & CommunityExperience: 2+ yearsEducation: mastersSkills: ["Risk management","Cross-functional collaboration","Problem-solving","Technical communication"]

Own the design, analysis, and validation of thermal protection systems for hypersonic and high-speed flight vehicles in extreme aerothermal environments. Perform aerothermal heating and CFD-based thermal environment analysis, ablation and material response modeling, and support material selection and tradeoffs. Plan and execute thermal/material characterization tests (including arcjet and furnace testing), build models from hand calculations to FEA/CFD, and present risks and recommendations in technical reviews.

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Anduril
Anduril
16 hours ago

Thermal Engineer, Thermal Protection Systems (TPS)

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

Job Summary

Own the design, analysis, and validation of thermal protection systems for hypersonic and high-speed flight vehicles in extreme aerothermal environments. Perform aerothermal heating and CFD-based thermal environment analysis, ablation and material response modeling, and support material selection and tradeoffs. Plan and execute thermal/material characterization tests (including arcjet and furnace testing), build models from hand calculations to FEA/CFD, and present risks and recommendations in technical reviews.
Location: Mountain View
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, reentry systems, and advanced flight platforms.
  • •Perform aerothermal heating analysis using engineering correlations, boundary-layer methods, and CFD to define thermal environments across flight trajectories.
  • •Conduct ablation and material response modeling to predict TPS recession, 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.
  • •Build and maintain thermal models spanning hand calculations through detailed FEA/CFD, present status and recommendations in design reviews, and support failure reviews and root-cause investigations.

Pay and Benefits

Salary: USD 140,000 - 186,000 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 using 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:Risk managementCross-functional collaborationProblem-solvingTechnical communication
Languages:English
Tech Stack:FIATCMATITANDPLRUS3DLoci-CHEMCFD++ANSYS FluentSTAR-CCM+NEQAIRHARAMATLABPythonTPSXCEACBAeroFEACFDArcjet 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