Senior Thermal Engineer

About the role

Fastwater Staffing is seeking a Senior Thermal Engineer to lead thermal design and analysis for high‑performance defense hardware such as drones, aircraft, and missiles. The role can be based onsite in Costa Mesa, CA, with remote flexibility for exceptional candidates.

Key responsibilities

• Own thermal design and analysis for integrated hardware products, defining architectures that meet rugged environmental demands.
• Develop and maintain thermal FEA/CFD models, perform hand calculations, and create MATLAB/Python simulations to predict system performance.
• Partner with cross‑functional engineers to document power dissipation, operating modes, and thermal constraints.
• Plan and execute prototype builds and thermal tests, including sensor selection, data acquisition, and results documentation.
• Present thermal status, risks, and recommendations in internal and customer‑facing design reviews.

Required profile

• MS or PhD in Mechanical, Aerospace Engineering, Applied Physics, or related field with a focus on heat transfer.
• 5+ years of experience designing, analyzing, or validating thermal systems for aerospace or defense hardware.
• U.S. citizenship and ability to obtain a Top Secret security clearance.

Required skills

• Thermal analysis tools: STAR‑CCM+, ANSYS, Icepak, Flotherm or similar.
• Proficiency in MATLAB, Python, and spreadsheet modeling.
• Experience with CAD tools such as SolidWorks or Siemens NX.
• Knowledge of heat sinks, cold plates, liquid cooling, and other thermal hardware.