Lead Thermal Engineer

About the role

Company Overview: Starcloud is building a network of data centers in space, starting at kilowatts and scaling to gigawatt capacity. Falling launch costs allow us to take advantage of the abundant energy, radiative cooling techniques, and ability to rapidly scale in space. Join our team, push the boundaries of the space economy, and be part of this pioneering effort to redefine the future of energy. Who we are Starcloud is building data centers in space. By moving compute into orbit, we tap nearly unlimited solar power and radiate heat straight into the cold of space, escaping the energy and cooling limits that constrain data centers on Earth. We launched our first spacecraft last year and have three more flying over the next 18 months, each a different architecture, giving us an unusually fast design-build-test-fly loop. We're a small team of exceptional engineers, backed by leading investors, building in person in Redmond, WA. The role You'll own the thermal architecture, design, analysis, testing, and flight execution of the thermal control systems that keep our space-based data centers alive. It's a hands-on leadership role: deep individual technical contribution plus building and leading the thermal engineering team. The scale here is closer to automotive and data center cooling than to standard spacecraft thermal design, so expect to pursue novel concepts, test them fast on the ground, and validate them in orbit. What you'll do - Own the thermal architecture: active and passive thermal control across the spacecraft. - Design the active loop: cold plates, coolant loops, pumps, heat exchangers, thermal interfaces, insulation, heaters, and large lightweight deployable radiators. - Lead the hard trades: performance, mass, cost, reliability, manufacturability, schedule, and operational constraints. - Push novel concepts: prototype rapidly, test on the ground, validate in orbit. - Model and correlate: build and correlate thermal models for spacecraft, payloads, and subsystems against real test and flight data. - Deliver flight hardware end to end: concept through manufacturing, integration, test, qualification, and launch, improving across successive spacecraft. - Build the team: hire, manage, and mentor the thermal engineering team, and set the standards, review practices, and verification workflows. What we're looking for - BS in Mechanical Engineering or a related discipline, or equivalent experience. - 8+ years of hands-on thermal engineering: design, analysis, hardware development, and test. - Strong command of thermal analysis tools such as Thermal Desktop, Ansys, or equivalent. - Experience with active thermal control in a demanding environment: space, power, automotive, data center, food/manufacturing, or petroleum. - Comfortable managing engineers while staying deeply hands-on. Nice to have - Experience formally leading a thermal engineering team. - High-power thermal systems: pumped fluid loops, large radiators, industrial heat exchangers, data center cooling, power-plant systems, automotive thermal, refrigeration, or petroleum process systems. - Experience leading development from architecture through qualification and production or flight. Eligibility This role requires access to information controlled under U.S. export laws. Candidates must be a U.S. person (citizen, national, lawful permanent resident, or protected individual) under ITAR/EAR. Compensation and benefits Annual salary: $200,000 - $250,000 USD Starcloud offers a competitive salary and benefits package, including stock options, discretionary bonuses, medical, vision, dental, 401(k) with company match, disability and life insurance, paid parental leave, vacation, holidays, and sick leave. Don't quite fit? If this isn't an exact match but you're exceptional at what you do, tell us what you'd own and why Starcloud, and apply anyway. Additional Requirements: - Willingness to work extended hours and weekends as necessary to support critical project milestones. - Must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or eligible for authorization under U.S. export regulations. Equal Opportunity Employer: Starcloud is committed to fostering an inclusive and meritocratic workplace. We provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected status. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation to the application/interview process should notify our Human Resources Department. Join Starcloud and shape the future! Embrace the challenge, push technological boundaries, and contribute to solving the global energy challenge. Apply today to join our visionary team dedicated to innovation and advancing humanity. We receive many applications, and so we apologize that we may not be able to respond to every applicant.