Thermal Engineer, Hypersonic Air Vehicles

Anduril Industries is a defense technology company with a mission to transform U.S. and allied military capabilities with advanced technology. By bringing the expertise, technology, and business model of the 21st century’s most innovative companies to the defense industry, Anduril is changing how military systems are designed, built and sold. Anduril’s family of systems is powered by Lattice OS, an AI-powered operating system that turns thousands of data streams into a realtime, 3D command and control center. As the world enters an era of strategic competition, Anduril is committed to bringing cutting-edge autonomy, AI, computer vision, sensor fusion, and networking technology to the military in months, not years.

About the Team

The Thermal Engineering team's work is essential to support our rapid innovation cycle and maintain the performance and reliability of advanced defense technologies. Thermal Engineers own the full development life cycle from conceptual design through ground testing and flight test analysis, ensuring high-performance, resilient systems that meet the demands of complex, contested environments.

About the Job

We are looking for Thermal Engineers to join our Hypersonic Air Vehicles team in Costa Mesa, CA. In this role, you will support the thermal design and analysis of unmanned air vehicles operating in demanding high-speed flight environments.

This role is ideal for someone early to mid-career with strong heat transfer and fluid dynamics fundamentals who wants to grow into full ownership of thermal design problems on hypersonic vehicle programs.

What You'll Do

• Support thermal design and analysis of unmanned air vehicles at conceptual, preliminary, and detailed design maturities
• Perform thermal analysis of flight vehicles using CFD, FEA, and engineering methods
• Support material response modeling under combined thermal and mechanical loads
• Conduct transient thermal analysis for time-varying mission profiles
• Support ground test planning, execution, and analysis in specialized thermal test facilities
• Use first principles and MATLAB/Python models to inform design decisions
• Collaborate with aerodynamics, structures, electrical, and systems engineers on integrated solutions
• Present thermal analysis results at internal design reviews
• Prepare formal documentation (specifications, test procedures, technical reports)

Required Qualifications

• MS or higher degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or Applied Physics with focus on heat transfer and fluid dynamics
• In-depth understanding of heat transfer, fluid dynamics, and high-temperature environments
• Coursework, research, or industry experience in thermal analysis for aerospace or high-performance hardware systems
• Experience with thermal analysis using CFD (STAR-CCM+, ANSYS Fluent) and/or FEA thermal solvers through coursework, research, or industry work
• Programming experience in MATLAB, Python, or similar
• Passion for defending the United States and her allies
• Ability to obtain and hold a U.S. Top Secret security clearance

Preferred Qualifications

• 1-5 years of industry experience in aerospace thermal engineering on rocket, aircraft, or missile programs
• Experience with thermal analysis in high-speed flight regimes
• Experience with thermal-structural coupling
• Exposure to ground testing with thermal instrumentation and data acquisition
• Graduate research in aerothermal analysis, high-temperature materials, or thermal protection systems
• Experience with material response modeling in extreme thermal environments
• Knowledge of material degradation and surface phenomena under demanding conditions
• CAD experience with SolidWorks or Siemens NX
• Experience preparing formal documentation

US Salary Range

$132,000—$175,000 USD

The salary range for this role is an estimate based on a wide range of compensation factors, inclusive of base salary only. Actual salary offer may vary based on (but not limited to) work experience, education and/or training, critical skills, and/or business considerations. Highly competitive equity grants are included in the majority of full time offers; and are considered part of Anduril's total compensation package. Additionally, Anduril offers top-tier benefits for full-time employees, including: 

Benefits

At Anduril, we invest in our people. Our comprehensive, competitive benefits package (available at little to no cost to employees) ensures you’re supported in health, recovery, and whatever comes next. For more information, Explore Our Benefits.

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