SpaceX

Thermal Engineer (Starlink)

SpaceX$90K — $120K *
Aerospace & Defense
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in engineering discipline
  • 1+ years of experience with mechanical or electromechanical design/analysis
  • Master's degree in relevant engineering discipline (preferred)
  • Experience with scientific programming languages (MATLAB, Python)
  • Proficiency in Thermal Desktop and ANSYS Workbench

Responsibilities

  • Design thermal systems for phased arrays, gateways, and consumer wireless products
  • Develop thermal designs for semiconductor packages, from concepts to simulations and testing
  • Build and conduct validations of hardware performance under extreme conditions
  • Automate workflow to streamline design processes
  • Apply first-principles to assess design impacts
  • Analyze and recommend performance or robustness enhancements
  • Document design requirements and specifications clearly
  • Collaborate continuously with cross-functional design teams

Benefits

  • Work in a cutting-edge aerospace environment
  • Opportunity to impact global internet access
  • Collaborative work culture with interdisciplinary teams
  • Potential for career development in advanced technology sectors
  • Exposure to extreme engineering challenges in diverse environments
Full Job Description
THERMAL ENGINEER (STARLINK)

At SpaceX, we are applying our expertise in building rockets and spacecraft to create the world's largest and most advanced satellite broadband system. Starlink delivers fast, reliable internet to millions of users through a vertically integrated network of satellites, receiver antennas, lasers, gateways, and sophisticated software. We design, build, test, and operate every part of the system to serve users everywhere on Earth.

As a thermal engineer, you are responsible for the thermal design, test, and validation of all Starlink hardware. This includes but is not limited to phased array antennas, custom silicon design for chips, consumer WiFi, and other RF systems to be developed in the future. You will use your skills in thermal analysis to make engineering decisions that improve the performance of Starlink hardware everywhere from remote research labs in Antarctica to Mach 0.7 in-flight.

RESPONSIBILITIES:
  • Thermal system design of next-generation phased arrays, gateways, and consumer wireless products - own every component, part, and interface in the design
  • Thermal design of semiconductor packages, from high level concepts to detail thermal simulations and lab testing
  • Devise, build, and run tests to validate the expected performance of the hardware in extreme conditions
  • Automate workflow and pursue operational simplicity to reduce engineering investment in the design cycle
  • Utilize first-principles approach to evaluate sizing cases and impact of design decisions
  • Perform analysis to make recommendations for performance/robustness improvements
  • Produce quality documentation of your work for design requirements and specifications
  • Continuous collaboration with mechanical, electrical, software, and RF design teams

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:
  • Bachelor's degree in engineering discipline
  • 1+ years of experience with mechanical design, electromechanical design, and/or analysis (internship or project team experience is applicable)

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:
  • Master's degree in relevant engineering discipline
  • 1+ years of experience using scientific programming languages such as MATLAB, Python
  • Experience with Thermal Desktop and ANSYS Workbench
  • Experience with tools for chip thermal design like Flotherm or Icepak
  • Experience with 3D and reduced order thermal modeling
  • Excellent oral and written communication skills
  • Ability to deliver against an aggressive schedule

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:
  • Must be available to work extended hours and weekends as needed


ITAR REQUIREMENTS:
  • To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. a7 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. a7 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.

About SpaceX

SpaceX is an American aerospace manufacturer and space transportation services company founded in 2002 by entrepreneur Elon Musk. The company designs, manufactures, and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft. SpaceX has developed the Falcon 1, Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, and Dragon spacecraft. The company was founded with the goal of reducing space transportation costs and enabling the colonization of Mars. SpaceX has achieved several milestones in spaceflight, including the first privately-funded liquid-propellant rocket to reach orbit, the first privately-funded company to send a spacecraft to the International Space Station, and the first privately-funded company to send a human-rated spacecraft to orbit.
Learn more about SpaceX
Size
8,000 employees
Industry
Founded
2002

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