Thermal Engineer
Redwood City, CA · Onsite · Full-time
Engineering - Hardware
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About the role
About Us
Array Labs builds advanced radar systems to help humanity understand and respond to changes across the physical world.
We’re launching a coordinated fleet of radar satellites to create a high-resolution 3D map of the Earth – updated in real time – enabling faster, smarter decision-making for government and commercial organizations supporting disaster response, infrastructure resilience, and mission-critical geopolitical intelligence.
We design and build our satellites end-to-end, producing the world’s most advanced earth observation satellites. Our fleet will deliver unprecedented levels of accuracy, coverage, and responsiveness to power critical insights precisely where they’re needed most.
About the Job
As a Thermal Engineer, you will own the thermal design of Array's radar satellites and payloads, from architecture through flight verification. Spaceborne radar is fundamentally a thermal problem: high-power transmit amplifiers operating at high duty cycles in a small-satellite package, with tight temperature stability requirements driven by RF performance. You will own the in-house thermal simulation framework — extending its physics, validating it against test data, and using it to drive design decisions — while building, instrumenting, and testing flight hardware. You will define heat rejection architectures, design radiators and conduction paths, and run thermal vacuum campaigns, working closely with RF, electrical, mechanical, and systems engineers to make sure the hardware survives and performs on orbit.
As part of our quickly growing engineering team, you will play a critical role in the design of the world's most advanced radar satellite constellation—one that will significantly improve humanity's ability to rapidly and comprehensively understand our changing planet.
Responsibilities:
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Define spacecraft and payload thermal architecture, including radiator sizing and conduction paths from high-power RF components to space.
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Own, extend, and validate Array's in-house Python thermal simulation framework, and use it to drive design decisions
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Support board- and component-level thermal design with electrical and RF engineers, including junction temperature and derating analysis.
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Design, build, and test thermal hardware: radiators, interface materials, coatings, MLI, heaters, and sensor instrumentation.
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Plan and execute thermal vacuum and thermal balance test campaigns, and correlate models against test and flight telemetry.
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Develop thermal requirements, interface control documentation, and verification plans with systems engineering.
Basic Qualifications:
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Bachelor's degree in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering, Physics, or STEM degree.
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3+ years of industry experience fielding hardware in thermally-constrained products.
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Strong coding proficiency preferably in Python and experience developing or extending engineering analysis tools — not just using them.
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Hands-on experience building, instrumenting, and testing thermal hardware.
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Strong grounding in heat transfer fundamentals.
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Excellent teamwork and communication skills.
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Ability to work in a fast-paced, iterative design environment.
Preferred Skills and Experience:
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Master's or Ph.D. in a related discipline.
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Experience with satellite thermal design and flight-proven hardware.
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Experience developing thermal or multiphysics simulation software: numerical methods, radiation view factors, transient solvers.
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Familiarity with software engineering practices: version control, testing, code review.
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Experience with thermal management of high-power RF electronics (GaN power amplifiers, phased arrays, high-dissipation boards).
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Familiarity with two-phase systems: heat pipes, loop heat pipes, or vapor chambers.
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Experience with commercial thermal tools (Thermal Desktop, SINDA/FLUINT, ANSYS) as a complement to in-house tooling.
Compensation & Benefits
Our hiring and compensation strategy is simple: find uncommonly good people and pay them uncommonly well.
We offer high flexibility between salary and equity-based compensation. Final candidates can choose from three compensation mixes: low, medium, or high equity. Equity is a significant component of total compensation, and we aim to provide meaningful ownership for this role.
Full-time employees enjoy a comprehensive benefits package including health, dental, and vision coverage, 401(k) plan with company match, commuter benefits, and more.
Interview Process
We will conduct interviews via Google Meet with the potential for an onsite visit; the typical process takes around 3–5 weeks to complete from start to finish.
Why Join Array
At Array Labs, deep technical expertise meets relentless impact. We prioritize curiosity over hierarchy and bold engineering over incremental gains. Our world-class team across hardware engineering, software, and aerospace works collaboratively to push boundaries and move fast.
Our values:
Join industry-leading experts to deliver unprecedented insights about our planet and build the future of Earth observation.
ITAR Requirements
To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.
Equal Opportunity Employer
Array Labs is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are made on the basis of merit, competence, and job qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by gender, color, race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, religion, age, gender identity, veteran status, disability status, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.
If you require a reasonable accommodation during the application or interview process, please let us know.