Structural Thermal Engineer Level 2/3 (aht)

Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman · Aerospace · Los Angeles, CA +1 · Mechanical

Structural Thermal Engineer responsible for the thermal design, analysis, testing, and validation of missile subsystems throughout the product life-cycle, working within a multidisciplinary team to ensure thermal solutions meet stringent performance, reliability, and safety requirements under extreme operating environments.

What you'd actually do

  1. Interpret customer statements of work and technical specifications to extract and define the boundary conditions for all thermal analyses.
  2. Develop comprehensive system‑level thermal models of complete assemblies, as well as detailed sub‑assembly and part‑level models.
  3. Build high‑fidelity thermal models of circuit‑card assemblies that extend down to individual component junctions.
  4. Conduct both steady‑state and transient thermal simulations to predict temperature fields, heat‑flow paths, and required heat‑sinking solutions.
  5. Collaborate closely with multidisciplinary engineering teams to ensure design concepts are manufacturable and meet program objectives.

Skills

Required

  • BS degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Thermal Sciences, or a closely related field
  • 2 years of thermal-engineering experience on aerospace or defense missile programs (design, analysis, or testing) for Level 2
  • 5 years of thermal-engineering experience on aerospace or defense missile programs (design, analysis, or testing) for Level 3
  • Familiar with thermal-analysis software such as FEMAP or SINDA, or equivalent tools
  • Basic understanding of heat-transfer fundamentals: conduction, convection, radiation, and phase-change processes
  • Experience with thermal-vacuum chambers, hot-fire rigs, high-temperature ovens, and temperature-measurement instrumentation (thermocouples, RTDs, IR cameras)
  • Familiarity with MIL-STD-810, MIL-STD-461, and other defense-related thermal-safety standards
  • Ability to prepare compliance documentation
  • Ability to obtain a U.S. Government Secret Security Clearance

Nice to have

  • SINDA skill plus
  • Knowledge of MINIVER or other aero heating codes a plus

What the JD emphasized

  • Ability to obtain a U.S. Government Secret Security Clearance
  • Ability to obtain and maintain a US Government DoD Secret security clearance