Thermal Design Engineer, Amazon Leo (Satellites)

Amazon Leo is Amazon’s low Earth orbit satellite network. Our mission is to deliver fast, reliable internet connectivity to customers beyond the reach of existing networks. From individual households to schools, hospitals, businesses, and government agencies, Amazon Leo will serve people and organizations operating in locations without reliable connectivity.

Export Control Requirement: Due to applicable export control laws and regulations, candidates must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (i.e., current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum.

We're looking for a Thermal Design Engineer who combines superb technical, research and analytical capabilities with a demonstrated ability to get the right work done quickly and effectively. This person must have experience working in spacecraft design, producing top notch thermal analysis and providing essential thermal related input and recommendations to vehicle architects and subsystem leads.

Key job responsibilities

• Support extensive architectural trades by performing preliminary thermal analysis of spacecraft and subsystems for orbital operational conditions and vehicle control options.
• Perform conceptual through detailed thermal analysis of Bus and Payload subsystems, components, and mechanisms.
• Support thermal design activities for additional future programs as the Amazon Leo constellation evolves.
• Develop automated scripts enabling rapid analysis updates to accommodate design trades (power states, duty cycles, structural mapping).
• Design, analyze, and select heat pipes for Bus and Payload components.
• Develop automated scripts enabling rapid analysis updates accommodating trades (power states, duty cycles, structural mapping).
• Define and execute thermal cycling and TVAC tests for development and qualification testing at the subsystem and vehicle level. Correlate test results with mission operations models.
• "Define and select test equipment as needed (e.g., sensors, data logging equipment).
• Perform thermal model correlation using test results.
• Conduct testing of prototypes and engineering models for fast design feedback loops.
• Plan and execute characterization, qualification, and acceptance tests.
• Document trades and design evolution, and prepare materials for design review gates.
• Support thermal design for terrestrial equipment and systems using CFD analysis.

About the team

Amazon Leo's Thermal Team is responsible for the thermal design solutions for all components in Amazon Leo's satellites and customer terminals. We work together with many engineering disciplines (e.g., mechanical, power, electrical, network, manufacturing) to find designs that maximize performance while minimizing mass, cost, and manufacturing complexity, and enabling all components to operate reliably over the satellite's target lifetime. The team follows all hardware components from conceptual design through detailed analysis, development testing, launch, and flight.

Basic Qualifications

• 3+ years of working in mechanical engineering or equivalent experience
• Experience with prototyping and implementation
• 3+ years of experience with thermal analysis software, including writing custom scripts to enable rapid design trades and iterations for system and subsystem optimizations for various use cases.
• 1+ years experience with test planning, test set-up, results correlation and system verification for production.
• 1+ years of experience developing and/or selecting thermal control hardware, including materials and finishes, paints, interface materials, MLI blankets, heat pipes, radiators, temperature sensors, and heaters.
• 1+ years of experience with thermal simulation software (e.g., Thermal Desktop (SINDA), ANSYS) and programming (e.g., Python, MATLAB).

Preferred Qualifications

• Knowledge of SolidWorks simulation or Ansys Finite Element analysis tools
• Experience in the design of complex mechanical products and equipment at volume
• Advanced degree (Master’s or PhD) in Mechanical Engineering or related field.
• Experience with spacecraft thermal design, and delivering design solution optimized for mass, cost, reliability, performance, manufacturability.
• Experience developing hardware and spacecraft that have been to space and successfully operated as intended.
• Developing spacecraft thermal solutions for high power flux components.
• CAD skills (NX or Solidworks)
• Experience with interpreting and correlating data from on-orbit telemetry.

Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status.

Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you have a disability and need a workplace accommodation or adjustment during the application and hiring process, including support for the interview or onboarding process, please visit https://amazon.jobs/content/en/how-we-hire/accommodations for more information. If the country/region you’re applying in isn’t listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.

The base salary range for this position is listed below. Your Amazon package will include sign-on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs). Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, qualifications, and location. Amazon also offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage), 401(k) matching, paid time off, and parental leave. Learn more about our benefits at https://amazon.jobs/en/benefits.

USA, WA, Redmond - 136,000.00 - 184,000.00 USD annually