Description
seeking a Thermal Engineer to support the development of advanced aircraft, missile, and high-speed flight systems. This engineer will own thermal design and analysis activities across integrated aerospace hardware, using first-principles calculations, thermal FEA, CFD, and physical test data to guide design decisions.
The ideal candidate has deep knowledge of heat transfer and fluid dynamics and experience supporting airframe, missile, rocket, UAV, hypersonic, or other high-performance aerospace systems.
Responsibilities
Own thermal design and analysis for aircraft, missiles, UAVs, hypersonic vehicles, or related defense systems.
Develop thermal architectures for hardware operating in rugged and demanding flight environments.
Perform first-order hand calculations, spreadsheet analysis, reduced-order modeling, thermal FEA, and CFD.
Build and maintain thermal models used to predict performance and establish system operating limits.
Evaluate conduction, convection, radiation, fluid flow, aerodynamic heating, and transient thermal behavior.
Support thermal protection system analysis for high-speed or extreme-temperature applications.
Partner with cross-functional engineering teams to document power dissipation, operating modes, environmental conditions, and thermal constraints.
Perform engineering trade studies to balance thermal performance, weight, reliability, manufacturability, cost, and schedule.
Skills
thermal analysis, Heat transfer, hypersonic, Thermal design, Thermal engineering, Thermal testing, Design, Aerospace engineering, Solidworks, Cfd, Thermal management, Thermal analysis software
Top Skills Details
thermal analysis,Heat transfer
Additional Skills & Qualifications
Five or more years of professional thermal engineering experience.
Ten or more years of relevant experience is strongly preferred.
Experience supporting integrated aerospace or defense hardware.
Aircraft, missile, rocket, UAV, hypersonic, or high-speed flight-system experience.
Strong fundamentals in conduction, convection, radiation, fluid flow, and transient heat transfer.
Experience using first-principles calculations to guide engineering decisions.
Experience with thermal FEA and/or CFD.
Experience with STAR-CCM+, ANSYS, or a comparable thermal analysis platform.
Experience Level
Expert Level
Job Type & LocationThis is a Contract to Hire position based out of Costa Mesa, CA.
Pay and BenefitsThe pay range for this position is $100.00 - $120.00/hr.
Individual compensation offered for this position within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors.
Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefits available for this temporary role may include the following: Medical, dental & vision Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital 401(k) Retirement Plan Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents) Short and long-term disability Health Spending Account (HSA) Transportation benefits Employee Assistance Program Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)
Workplace TypeThis is a fully onsite position in Costa Mesa,CA.
Application DeadlineThis position is anticipated to close on Oct 16, 2026.
About Actalent
Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® winner for both client and talent service.
The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.
If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability, please email actalentaccommodation@actalentservices.com for other accommodation options.
San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.
Massachusetts Lie Detector: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.
Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process, including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.
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