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.

We're looking for a Thermal Design Engineer with deep technical expertise, strong analytical rigor, and a bias for action. The ideal candidate brings hands-on R&D experience in thermal analysis and hardware development, and has partnered with vehicle architects and subsystem leads to drive next generation satellite design decisions.


Key job responsibilities
-Investigate new thermal concepts, advanced materials, and emerging cooling methods (such as advanced liquid cooling or two-phase systems) to push technical boundaries.

-Develop reduced-order models, first-principle equations, and system-level thermal architecture.

-Support extensive architectural trades with preliminary thermal analysis on technologies applicable to spacecraft and subsystems for orbital operational conditions and vehicle control options.

-Develop automated scripts enabling rapid analysis updates accommodating trades (power states, duty cycles, structural mapping).

-Design, analyze and heat rejection technologies for bus and payload components.

-Define and execute test setups for thermal cycling and TVAC tests for development and qualification testing at subsystem and vehicle level, and correlate test results with mission operations models.

-Define and select test equipment as needed (e.g., sensors, data logging equipment etc.)
-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 preparation of materials for design review gates.

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.

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 the design that maximizes 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, detailed analysis, development testing, through launch and flight.

Basic Qualifications

- 3+ years of working in mechanical engineering or equivalent experience
- Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering or related discipline, or equivalent experience.
- 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+ year experience with test planning, test set-up, results correlation and system verification for production.
- 1+ year of experience in development of, and/or selection of, range of thermal control hardware, materials and finishes, paints, interface materials, MLI blankets, heat-pipes, radiators, temperature sensors, and or heaters.
- 1+ year 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 which 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 - 117,300.00 - 160,000.00 USD annually