Thermal Engineer (m/f/d)

ATMOS Space Cargo is seeking a Thermal Engineer (m/f/d) to support the thermal design, analysis, and verification of our re‑entry and return vehicle technologies. In this role, you will work closely with multidisciplinary engineering teams to ensure our spacecraft hardware performs reliably across mission phases, from launch and orbit operations to re‑entry and landing.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain thermal models for spacecraft level thermal architecture, including active and passive thermal control design for avionic components and payloads.
• Perform thermal modeling across mission phases, including launch, orbit operations, de‑orbit, re‑entry, landing, and ground handling.
• Design, analyze, and integrate pumped fluid loops to manage heat collection and rejection for spacecraft survival in extreme orbital environments.
• Select and optimize COTS fans to maximize forced‑air cooling efficiency while minimizing acoustic signatures and meeting outgassing standards for microgravity locker environments.
• Perform transient thermal analysis of spacecraft thrusters, including heat soak‑back assessment, propulsion thermal modeling, and cross‑functional coordination with propulsion, mechanical, and systems engineering teams.
• Define and manage flight hardware interfaces during integration, including pipes, fittings, valves, MLI, heaters, sensors, harness routing, thermal fillers, and related components.
• Design and plan thermal test campaigns, including Active Thermal Control System (ACTS), TVAC, thermal balance, and thermal cycling, at system and sub‑system level.
• Work closely with mechanical, systems, avionics, and AIT teams to ensure technical alignment across subsystems and interfaces.
• Prepare and maintain thermal engineering documentation, including analysis reports, test procedures, verification plans, and review inputs.

Qualifications

• Masters Degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, Thermal Engineering, Physics, or a related technical field.
• At least 3 years of professional experience in thermal control systems for complex spacecraft, or environmental testing for aerospace, space systems, or similar complex engineering systems.
• Good knowledge of Orbital Mechanics, Thermodynamics and Fluid Dynamics.
• Good understanding of heat transfer principles, including conduction, convection, radiation, and transient thermal behaviour.
• Experience with thermal modelling or simulation tools such as Simcenter 3D, TaiTherm, SimLab Thermal, Simulink, Matlab, Altair Flow Simulator.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with spacecraft, satellites, re‑entry vehicles, thermal protection systems, or high‑temperature environments.
• Experience supporting thermal tests, TVAC campaigns, or hardware validation activities.
• Knowledge of ECSS standards, aerospace verification practices, Python, MATLAB, or similar analysis tools.