Senior Thermal Engineer - Payload Systems

Application close date:

At Blue Origin, we envision millions of people living and working in space for the benefit of Earth. We're working to develop reusable, safe, and low-cost space vehicles and systems within a culture of safety, collaboration, and inclusion. Join our team of problem solvers as we add new chapters to the history of spaceflight!

We are seeking a Senior Thermal Engineer to lead thermal design and analysis for those arrays.

Thermal performance is one of the defining engineering challenges of this program. Active phased arrays concentrate a great deal of power into a small area, and on orbit there is no air to move it - every watt leaves by conduction and radiation through hardware you design. Getting that right determines how much capacity the array can deliver and how long it lasts. This is a role where thermal analysis drives the architecture rather than validating it after the fact.

You would join early, with real ownership. The thermal discipline is being built out now, requirements and models are still maturing, and the person in this role will shape both the design and the practices the team works to. Expect to work the problem end to end: architecture, modeling, hardware definition, test, and correlation.

Two things make this different from most spacecraft thermal work. First, scale: we are building a constellation, not a spacecraft, so mass and performance are weighed against recurring cost and manufacturability at volume, and the sourcing strategy for thermal hardware is part of the engineering job. Second, breadth: you will work across both orbital and terrestrial environments - vacuum and radiation-dominated heat transfer on the satellite, convection, solar loading, and weather exposure on the ground terminal. Few thermal engineers have done both well. We would like you to.

• Lead thermal architecture for phased array antennas, including active RF front ends, beamforming ICs, and associated power electronics.
• Build and maintain detailed thermal models spanning conduction and radiation for space hardware, and convection-driven regimes for ground terminals.
• Perform transient and steady-state analysis against realistic mission and utilization profiles, including duty-cycled RF operation, eclipse transitions, attitude variation, and worst-case hot and cold conditions.
• Design thermal energy storage and transient heat management solutions for highly variable RF loads.
• Define and manage thermal interfaces across the payload, including radiators, heat pipes, thermal interface materials, heat spreaders, cold plates where applicable, and structural conduction paths.
• Drive conduction path improvement at the board-to-structure interface in close partnership with mechanical design, including contact area, preload, and mounting strategy.
• Select and specify thermal coatings and optical properties, trading performance against recurring cost at production volume.
• Design heater architecture, thermal zones, and under-temperature protection strategy, including array warm-up and self-heating states.
• Establish thermal requirements, margin policy, and verification plans; own the analysis, test, and inspection basis for each.
• Support thermal test campaigns from test article definition through instrumentation, execution, model correlation, and anomaly resolution.
• Contribute to make-versus-buy and supply chain strategy for thermal hardware at production volume.
• Drive design trades balancing thermal performance, mass, power, producibility, and cost across both space and ground systems.
• Collaborate with RF, ASIC, mechanical, structures, GNC, power, and systems engineering to ensure thermal constraints are integrated into array layout, module design, and packaging early.
• Mentor engineers and help establish thermal engineering practice, standards, and tooling as the discipline grows.

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Physics, or a related field.
• 8+ years of experience in thermal engineering for aerospace, RF systems, or high-performance electronics.
• Demonstrated experience with spacecraft thermal design, including vacuum environments, radiation heat transfer, and flight hardware qualification.
• Strong grounding in the thermal challenges of high-power-density electronics, including dense module integration, junction-level heat extraction, and conduction-limited designs.
• Proficiency with thermal modeling tools such as Thermal Desktop, SINDA/FLUINT, ANSYS Icepak, or equivalent, and comfort building or extending custom models where commercial tools fall short.
• Demonstrated transient thermal analysis capability, including duty-cycled loads and thermal fatigue considerations.
• Working knowledge of materials, coatings, and thermal interface technologies for space and outdoor terrestrial hardware.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to present and defend technical positions to both engineering and program stakeholders.
• Ability to operate with requirements still maturing, and the judgment to make design decisions that survive contact with firmer data.

• Master's or PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Physics, or a related field.
• Phased array thermal design experience, including antenna-in-package integration, beamforming and front-end IC thermal paths, and panel-level array thermal architecture.
• Experience with thermal energy storage for transient load management, including phase change and other high-thermal-capacity approaches.
• Heat pipe design and integration into structural hardware, and familiarity with the space-grade heat pipe supply base.
• Experience across both space and terrestrial antenna systems, particularly electronically steered arrays.
• Experience with thermal model correlation to test data, and with planning and running thermal test campaigns.
• Experience with radiator sizing, coating selection and degradation, MLI, and spacecraft-level thermal balance.
• Heater and survival thermal design experience, including under-temperature protection architecture.
• Experience supporting production scaling and recurring cost reduction for thermal hardware, from aerospace, automotive, or high-volume electronics.
• Familiarity with environmental and qualification standards such as NASA, ESA, MIL-STD, or commercial equivalents.
• Experience with advanced cooling approaches such as loop heat pipes, vapor chambers, deployable radiators, or liquid cooling, and the judgment to know when they are and are not warranted.

Base Pay Range for:

Other site ranges may differ

Culture Statement

Don't meet all desired requirements? Studies have shown that some people are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single desired qualification. At Blue Origin, we are dedicated to building an authentic workplace, so if you're excited about this role but your past experience doesn't align perfectly with every desired qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Export Control Regulations

Applicants for employment at Blue Origin must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (i.e. current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S.as a refugee or granted asylum.

Background Check

• Required for all positions: Blue's Standard Background Check
• Required for Certain Job Profiles: Defense Biometric Identification System (DBIDS) background check if at any time the role requires one to be on a military installation
• Required for Certain Job Profiles: Drivers who operate Commercial Motor Vehicles with a Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW), Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) or combination of power unit and trailer that meets or exceeds 10,001 lbs. and/or transports placardable amounts of hazardous materials by ground in any vehicle on a public road while in commerce, may be subject to additional Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations including: Driver Qualification Files, Medical Certification (obtained before onboarding), Road Test, Hours of Service, Drug and Alcohol Testing, vehicle inspection requirements, CDL requirements (if applicable) and hazardous materials transportation/shipping training.
• Required for certain Job Profiles: Ability to obtain and maintain Merchant Mariner Credential, which includes pre-employment and random drug testing as well as DOT physical

Benefits

• Benefits include: Medical, dental, vision, basic and supplemental life insurance, paid parental leave, short and long-term disability, 401(k) with a company match of up to 5%, and an Education Support Program.
• Stock Options for all regular employees (working at least 20 hours/week)
• Paid Time Off: Up to four (4) weeks per year based on weekly scheduled hours, and up to 14 company-paid holidays.
• Dependent on role type and job level, employees may be eligible for benefits and bonuses based on the company's intent to reward individual contributions and enable them to share in the company's results, or other factors at the company's sole discretion. Bonus amounts and eligibility are not guaranteed and subject to change and cancellation. Please check with your recruiter for more details.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Blue Origin is proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and is committed to attracting, retaining, and developing a highly qualified and dedicated work force. Blue Origin hires and promotes people on the basis of their qualifications, performance, and abilities. We support the establishment and maintenance of a workplace that fosters trust, equality, and teamwork. We provide all qualified applicants for employment and employees with equal opportunities for hire, promotion, and other terms and conditions of employment, regardless of their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin/ethnicity, age, physical or mental disability, genetic factors, military/veteran status, or any other status or characteristic protected by federal, state, and/or local law. Blue Origin will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with applicable federal, state, and local laws, including the Washington Fair Chance Act, the California Fair Chance Act, the Los Angeles Fair Chance in Hiring Ordinance, and other applicable laws. For more information on "Know Your Rights," please see here.

Affirmative Action and Disability Accommodation

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