Thermal Engineer

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 & Location
This is a Contract to Hire position based out of Costa Mesa, CA.
Pay and Benefits
The 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 Type
This is a fully onsite position in Costa Mesa,CA.
Application Deadline
This 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 [email protected] 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.