Thermal Systems Engineer (Space Environment)

Orbital Arc Corporation is seeking a Thermal Systems Engineer to design, model, and build advanced thermal management systems for spacecraft and space-based hardware. This role is critical to ensuring system performance, reliability, and survivability in extreme space environments, including vacuum, radiation exposure, and wide thermal gradients.Key Responsibilities- Design and develop thermal management systems for spacecraft and space-based electronics - Perform thermal modeling, simulation, and analysis of spacecraft systems, including steady-state and transient conditions - Calculate thermal loads, temperature gradients, and heat transfer mechanisms (conduction, radiation, limited convection where applicable) - Design and evaluate heat pipes, vapor chambers, radiators, and other thermal control hardware - Collaborate with mechanical, electrical, and propulsion teams to integrate thermal solutions into system architecture - Support testing, validation, and troubleshooting of thermal systems in laboratory and flight environments - Analyze thermal performance under mission-specific conditions (LEO, GEO, deep space, etc.) - Optimize system designs for mass, power efficiency, and manufacturabilityRequired Qualifications- Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Physics, or a related field (MS preferred) - Minimum 5 years of professional experience in thermal engineering - At least 2 years of direct experience working with thermal systems in space or space-like environments - Strong understanding of heat transfer principles, including radiation-dominated systems - Experience performing detailed thermal modeling and simulation using software tools - Experience designing or analyzing heat pipes, vapor chambers, or similar thermal transport systems - Ability to interpret and generate engineering documentation, reports, and design analysesPreferred Qualifications- Experience with spacecraft thermal control systems (passive and active) - Familiarity with vacuum testing, thermal cycling, and environmental testing protocols - Experience working on satellite, propulsion, or high-power electronics systems - Knowledge of material properties in vacuum and radiation environments - Experience with rapid prototyping and iterative hardware development - Familiarity with startup or early-stage engineering environmentsAdditional RequirementsThis role will be required to handle technical information regulated under ITAR and/or EAR, and is open only to US persons (Permanent residents or citizens of the United States of America).This role requires a highly analytical engineer capable of operating with limited resources in a fast-paced startup environment. The candidate hired will be our primary authority and resource internally for solving all thermal management questions, and will have immediate responsibility for start-to-finish design of a thermal management approach on a short timeline. You must be capable of taking a design from concept to reality with complete ownership of the design and very little oversight. You will have collaborators on overall R&D and engineering, but they will be specialized in different engineering disciplines, so the company will be relying on you, specifically, to know your stuff cold, communicate it effectively to the team, build it to spec, and do it fast enough to make our launch deadline.Compensation & BenefitsOrbital Arc’s goal is to gather the best talent on earth and reward them sufficiently that they stay with us for a long time. We are also an early-stage startup, with limited capital and resources, which constrain us. The role described here is for one of our very first paid positions, and we need someone magnificent, and each member of the team at this scale is expected to be uniquely talented, with unique backgrounds, and unique needs. As such, standardizing our compensation and benefits offers makes little sense right now. So, if you want to be part of this, and you think you have what it takes, the simplest thing will be for us to have a conversation about what you need, in a mix of cash, equity, and benefits, to make it work for you. If we also believe you have what it takes, and what you need will also work for us, then we will look forward to working together.