(Fastwater Staffing) SENIOR THERMAL ENGINEER – HYPERSONIC AIR VEHICLES

Location & Work Arrangement

• Costa Mesa, CA (On-Site) preferred
• Remote opportunities may be considered for exceptionally strong candidates located elsewhere in the U.S.

Employment Details

• Contract: 6 months, with potential for extension or conversion to a permanent position
• Target Bill Rate: Up to $120/hour

Requirements

• Must be a U.S. Citizen
• Must be eligible to obtain and maintain a Top Secret security clearance

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Thermal design and analysis of unmanned air vehicles at conceptual, preliminary, and detailed design maturities
• Define thermal system architectures and material selection strategies for vehicles operating in demanding flight environments
• Thermal analysis of flight vehicles using CFD, FEA, and engineering methods
• Material response modeling under combined thermal and mechanical loads
• Transient thermal analysis for time-varying mission profiles
• Ground test planning, execution, and analysis in specialized thermal test facilities
• Flight test planning, execution, and post-flight thermal data analysis
• Use first principles and MATLAB/Python models to inform design decisions
• Collaborate with aerodynamics, structures, electrical, and systems engineers on integrated solutions
• Present thermal status at formal reviews internally and with customers
• 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
• 5+ years of experience in aerospace thermal engineering on rocket, aircraft, or missile programs
• Experience with thermal analysis in high-speed flight regimes
• Thermal analysis experience using CFD (STAR-CCM+, ANSYS Fluent) and/or FEA thermal solvers
• Experience with thermal-structural coupling
• Ground testing experience with thermal instrumentation and data acquisition
• Strong programming skills in MATLAB, Python, or similar for tool development
• Experience preparing formal documentation
• CAD experience with SolidWorks or Siemens NX
• Passion for defending the United States and her allies
• Ability to obtain and hold a U.S. Top Secret security clearance
  

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience with material response modeling in extreme thermal environments
• Knowledge of material degradation and surface phenomena under demanding conditions
• Experience with specialized thermal ground test facilities
• Experience with chemical kinetics and finite-rate chemistry modeling
• Flight test experience including instrumentation design and post-flight analysis
• Experience with thermal-structural analysis codes (NASTRAN, Abaqus, ANSYS Mechanical)
• Material characterization experience at elevated temperatures
• Experience with manufacturing and assembly of thermal systems
• Active U.S. security clearance