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Portal Space Systems is seeking a Senior Thermal Structural Analysis Engineer to lead coupled thermal–structural analysis and substantiation of spacecraft hardware operating in high-temperature and thermally severe environments. Based in Bothell, WA, this role is central to ensuring structural integrity across qualification and flight environments for propulsion-adjacent and elevated-temperature systems.
You will own the development and maintenance of coupled thermal–structural finite element models (FEMs) for spacecraft hardware, performing thermo-mechanical stress, distortion, fatigue, and margin-of-safety analyses driven by thermal gradients and transient heating. Working closely with propulsion, thermal, materials, and test teams, you will evaluate high-temperature material behavior, validate and optimize structural designs for strength, stiffness, weight, and thermal durability, and support structural verification through qualification and flight readiness.
Key responsibilities include:
- Develop and maintain coupled thermal–structural FEMs for elevated-temperature environments
- Perform thermo-mechanical stress, distortion, and fatigue analyses
- Evaluate high-temperature material behavior using analysis and first-principles hand calculations
- Partner with cross-functional teams to validate and optimize structural designs
- Define, execute, and interpret elevated-temperature material strength testing
- Correlate analytical predictions with high-temperature test data
- Develop Python-based tools to automate analysis post-processing and verification workflows
- Document thermal-structural assumptions, methods, and verification rationale
Required qualifications: BS or MS in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related discipline; 5+ years of thermal-structural or thermo-mechanical analysis experience in aerospace or related industries; demonstrated experience performing coupled thermal–structural analyses.
Preferred skills include proficiency with FEMAP/Nastran or Siemens Simcenter 3D, experience with elevated-temperature material behavior, propulsion/thruster-adjacent hardware expertise, Python/MATLAB proficiency, Git version control experience, and strong first-principles analytical capabilities.
Note: This position requires U.S. person status for ITAR-controlled material access.
