Mechanical Engineer - Active Cooling

The role

You will be the responsible engineer for the liquid cooling loop that keeps on-orbit GPU compute hardware temperature controlled. You will architect the pumped coolant loop, select components, and own the mechanical packaging, structures, and interfaces. You will manage hardware from concept and analysis through ground testbeds, qualification, and on-orbit operation.

What you will do

• Own the design of the spacecraft liquid cooling loop from concept through flight.
• Perform pressure-drop, flow, and thermal-fluid analyses to size the loop.
• Design mechanical packaging, structures, mounts, and mechanisms.
• Design, build, and operate ground testbeds and dev rigs.
• Develop and execute proof-pressure, leak, flow, thermal-vacuum, and qualification/acceptance test programs.
• Author and maintain schematics, drawings, interface control documents, and analysis reports.
• Select, size, and integrate coolant loop components and work with suppliers.
• Diagnose and resolve cooling-system anomalies during integration and test.
• Partner with thermal, power, structures, avionics, propulsion, and software teams.
• Drive quick design cycles, hardware builds, and test campaigns.

Required qualifications

• BS or MS in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field
• 3+ years of experience designing or analyzing fluid systems and/or mechanical hardware in aerospace, automotive, energy, data-center cooling, or other high-performance environments
• Strong fluids fundamentals: compressible/incompressible flow, thermodynamics, heat transfer, and pressure systems
• Hands-on experience with fluid components including pumps, valves, regulators, tubing, and instrumentation
• Experience taking hardware from concept through build and test, with hands-on integration and test experience
• Strong mechanical design fundamentals in mechanics, materials, and thermal systems
• Proficiency with CAD (e.g., NX, SolidWorks, or similar)

Nice to have

• Direct experience designing pumped liquid cooling loops, two-phase cooling, or cold-plate/coolant systems for high heat-flux electronics or GPU/compute hardware
• Experience designing for space environments (thermal, vibration, vacuum) and background in spacecraft structures, mechanisms, or thermal systems
• 3+ years of experience with spacecraft, launch vehicle, satellite fluid, or thermal systems
• Familiarity with thermal control systems and thermal-fluid coupling at the spacecraft system level
• Experience with FEA, thermal, and fluid simulation tools
• Knowledge of aerospace standards (MIL-SPEC, NASA-STD, ECSS) and spaceflight hardware qualification and acceptance margins
• Hands-on experience with prototyping, machining, test setups, leak testing, or pressure vessel design
• Startup or early-stage hardware experience; comfort operating with significant technical ambiguity

Benefits

• Equity in Cowboy Space Corp.
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• 401(k) retirement savings plan
• Paid time off
• 10 paid holidays per calendar year
• Paid parental leave
• Relocation assistance if applicable
• Daily lunch in the office
• Fully stocked kitchen with beverages and snacks

Before you apply

• Applicants must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined in 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain required authorizations from the U.S. Departmen

About the company

Cowboy Space Corporation is building the infrastructure for abundant, resilient space-based solar energy. The company is based in San Carlos, CA.