Standard Job Description

Space and strategic defense systems operate in some of the most unforgiving environments imaginable. Success depends on precision — and thermal performance is often the difference between mission success and mission failure.

At Lockheed Martin Space, we are redefining resilience and speed through our 21st Century Security vision. We don’t just build systems — we engineer survivability, performance, and reliability into every component. As a Level 4 Thermal Engineer, you will serve as a technical leader driving the thermal architecture of advanced missile systems from concept through qualification and production.

This position supports spacecraft, missile, hypersonic, or other advanced aerospace platforms operating in extreme and highly dynamic environments. If you’re looking for ownership, influence, and the opportunity to solve complex, high-consequence engineering challenges — this role is built for you.

What does this role look like?

As a senior member of the thermal engineering team, you will lead and execute high-fidelity thermal analyses across missile components, subsystems, and fully integrated systems — including ground support equipment — throughout the entire lifecycle.

Your impact will include:

• Owning end-to-end thermal modeling strategy using tools such as NX, Simcenter, SINDA/Fluent, and Thermal Desktop
• Developing preliminary hand calculations and reduced-order models to inform early design trades before advancing to detailed simulations
• Accounting for all relevant heating environments — conduction, convection, radiation (solar, Earth IR, albedo), aerodynamic heating, free molecular heating, and transient mission effects
• Translating program requirements into actionable thermal design criteria and verification strategies
• Leading technical reviews, presenting analysis results to customers, program leadership, and design teams
• Driving thermal support for Thermal Vacuum (TVAC) and environmental testing, including instrumentation strategy and data correlation
• Partnering across structures, materials, propulsion, manufacturing, and quality to develop producible, cost-effective thermal solutions
• Coordinating TPS design, material selection, and component-level thermal integration

This is a highly collaborative, fast-paced environment where your technical judgment and leadership will directly influence system-level performance.

The information below reflects the standard job description for this position:

Researches, plans, designs and develops mechanical products and systems such as instruments, controls, robots, engines, machines and mechanical, thermal hydraulic or heat transfer systems for production, transmission, measurement, and use of energy. Applies research to the planning, design, development, and testing of mechanical and/or electromechanical systems, instruments, controls, engines, and/or machines.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related discipline
• Significant professional experience in thermal analysis (thermophysics, heat transfer, fluid mechanics, aerodynamics, etc.)
• Experience using industry-standard thermal analysis tools such as NX/Simcenter, Thermal Desktop, SINDA, ANSYS
• Knowledge or experience developing and managing technical requirements
• Strong mathematical, analytical, and problem-solving skills grounded in mechanical engineering fundamentals
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Secret security clearance, thus US Citizenship is required

Desired Skills

• Experience modeling complex missile or aerospace thermal environments in Finite Element Analysis (FEA) across full mission profiles
• Familiarity with launch vehicle subsystems (Structure, TPS, Avionics, Propulsion, FTS)
• Expertise in integrating transient and steady-state data from cross-functional teams into high-fidelity models
• Experience coordinating with test teams to define instrumentation plans, conditioning approaches, and correlation strategies
• Proficiency performing 1D TPS material thermal response modeling
• Experience reviewing and approving vendor designs, analysis products, and test plans
• Experience developing junior thermal engineers through on-the-job task delegation, product review, and coaching
• Strong executive-level communication skills with the ability to translate complex analysis into clear, actionable insights for both technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Proficient in AI prompting as it applies to this position and practice

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