Senior Thermal Analysis Engineer

Senior Thermal Analysis Engineer – Varda Space Industries

Position:
Senior Thermal Analysis Engineer at Varda Space Industries.

Low Earth orbit is open for business
. Varda is accelerating the development of commercial space infrastructure, from in‑orbit pharmaceutical processing to reliable and economical reentry capsules. From life‑saving pharmaceuticals to more powerful fiber optics, there is a world of products used on Earth today that can only be manufactured in space. Varda is accelerating innovation in the orbital economy by creating both the products and infrastructure needed so space can directly benefit life on Earth.

Our mission is to expand the economic bounds of humankind. Our team is uniquely suited to accomplishing this goal, with leadership and staff comprised of veterans from Space

X, Blue Origin, major pharmaceutical companies and Silicon Valley. Varda was founded in January 2021 by Will Bruey and Delian Asparouhov with significant backing from world class investors including Khosla Ventures, Lux Capital, Founders Fund, Caffeinated Capital, General Catalyst, and Also Capital. Varda is headquartered in El Segundo, California, where we have offices and a production facility where our vehicles, equipment, and materials are built, integrated, and tested.

Varda also has offices in Washington DC and Huntsville AL (coming soon). Join Varda, and work to create a bustling in‑space ecosystem.

The Senior Thermal Analysis Engineer serves as a key member of the vehicle engineering team. You will develop and maintain thermal system architectures and collaborate cross‑functionally with hardware, production, software, and mission ops teams to ensure vehicle health and performance through all mission phases. Your work will directly influence the design and performance of Varda’s spacecraft from concept and test to validation.

You will often flex between quick evaluations and high‑fidelity analysis to assess vehicle impact and risk. You will also contribute to thermal data processing and documentation workflows to ensure a robust system as we scale in vehicle cadence. A proactive problem‑solving approach and commitment to meeting tight schedules are critical to supporting Varda's goals of expanding manufacturing capabilities and reentry systems.

• Develop and maintain integrated thermal analysis models for Varda’s space vehicles.
• Work collaboratively with other spacecraft disciplines to define thermal hardware requirements and iterate on designs based on simulation results.
• Publish flight predictions and provide actionable guidance to the larger engineering team.
• Ensure spacecraft remains within operating and survival limits during all mission phases via passive and active thermal control, seeking solutions that provide operational simplicity and system robustness.
• Create and maintain tools/systems for thermal simulation and flight data processing.
• Plan and execute Thermal Vacuum (TVac) testing.
• Anchor thermal models to vehicle level Thermal Vacuum testing and/or flight data to improve model fidelity.
• Provide guidance to vehicle level testing, such as thermal bakeout, Vehicle-In-The-Loop (VITL), propulsion hot fire, etc.
• Work independently with minimal technical oversight.
• Work on open‑ended problems to inform technical decisions, balancing efficiency and fidelity.
• Mentor junior engineers and serve as a technical peer reviewer.

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Aerospace, or related discipline with a minimum of 5+ years of related professional experience, or a Master’s degree in a related engineering discipline and 3+ years of related professional experience.
• Experience and knowledge in developing passive and active thermal control systems.
• Proficiency in detailed thermal analysis and troubleshooting in programs such as Thermal Desktop, SINDA/FLUINT, ANSYS, MSC Nastran.
• Experience anchoring thermal models to test and/or flight data.
• Experience in planning and executing Thermal Vacuum Chamber testing.
• Experience in MATLAB (or equivalent) for data processing and task automation.
• Ability to structure open‑ended problems and perform system balance sizing…