Thermal Engineer, Thermal Protection Systems (TPS)

Anduril
Seattle
Workplace: OnsiteFull timeUSD 129,000 - 171,000Function: Communications, PR & CommunityExperience: 2+ yearsEducation: mastersSkills: []

Own thermal protection systems design for hypersonic and high-speed flight vehicles, including missiles and reentry systems. Perform aerothermal heating analysis with correlations, boundary-layer methods, and CFD; model ablation and material response to predict TPS recession and thermal margins. Select TPS materials, drive thermal/material characterization testing (e.g., arcjet and furnace, instrumented tests), maintain thermal models from hand calcs through FEA/CFD, and present tradeoffs and risks 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 thermal protection systems design for hypersonic and high-speed flight vehicles, including missiles and reentry systems. Perform aerothermal heating analysis with correlations, boundary-layer methods, and CFD; model ablation and material response to predict TPS recession and thermal margins. Select TPS materials, drive thermal/material characterization testing (e.g., arcjet and furnace, instrumented tests), maintain thermal models from hand calcs through FEA/CFD, and present tradeoffs and risks in technical reviews.
Location: Seattle
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.
  • •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 and thermal margins under mission-representative conditions.
  • •Evaluate and select TPS materials (e.g., carbon phenolic, PICA, silicone-based ablators, ceramics, high-temperature composites) based on aerothermal loads, mass constraints, and manufacturability.
  • •Execute thermal and material characterization testing (including arcjet testing, furnace testing, and instrumented flight-article thermal testing) and present TPS status, risks, tradeoffs, and recommendations in technical reviews.

Pay and Benefits

Salary: USD 129,000 - 171,000
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/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+ yearsAerospaceDefenseHypersonics
Education:Master's in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Applied Physics (or related field)
Tech Stack:CFDFEAFIATCMATITANDPLRUS3DLoci-CHEMCFD++ANSYS FluentSTAR-CCM+MATLABPythonNEQAIRHARATPSXCEACBAeroArcjet 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