Senior Propulsion and Energetics Thermofluids Engineer

Inversion is seeking a Senior Propulsion and Energetics Thermofluids Engineer to join our Playa Vista, California office full-time. You will lead the thermal and mechanical engineering of advanced vacuum chamber and heat exchanger systems for our hypersonic plasma wind tunnel facility.

Role Overview

As the Senior Propulsion and Energetics Thermofluids Engineer, reporting to our Head of Test, Propulsion & Energetics, you will lead the design and development of advanced vacuum chamber systems, mechanical structures, and cooling infrastructure for high-energy plasma testing. This role is central to Inversion's mission to revolutionize space-based logistics and rapid global delivery, ensuring our hypersonic test facilities can accurately simulate and validate extreme reentry environments.

Core Duties

• Design and develop vacuum chamber and heat exchanger cooling systems optimized for high-energy plasma environments, producing detailed mechanical drawings and technical specifications
• Conduct thermal and fluid analysis on industrial-scale equipment
• Lead advanced transient thermal analysis using 3D conjugate heat transfer modeling, aerodynamic heating boundary conditions, and internal radiative and conductive heat transfer analysis
• Drive design trade studies balancing performance, manufacturability, timeline, and cost
• Size, select, and design structural interfaces between test facility components and thermal protection or internal insulation systems
• Own CAD modeling, engineering drawings, release packages, and bill of materials for prototype and flight-representative hardware
• Support prototype integration, fit verification, and issue resolution during build and assembly
• Provide mechanical tooling and mechanism design support for test activities and facility operations
• Collaborate with vehicle, manufacturing, test, supply chain, and technician teams from concept through fabrication and integration
• Coordinate with external vendors on part sourcing, manufacturability review, and development acceleration

Who We're Looking For

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or equivalent professional experience
• 5+ years of thermal design, modeling, and analysis experience with high-temperature systems
• Proven mechanical design expertise for industrial systems, mechanisms, high thermal-load equipment, and user-facing interfaces
• Advanced proficiency with CAD software such as Siemens NX
• Experience producing engineering drawings and applying geometric dimensioning and tolerancing per ASME Y14.5
• Expert-level proficiency with thermal analysis software including Thermal Desktop, ANSYS Thermal, or equivalent platforms
• Strong foundational knowledge of multi-physics heat transfer and thermodynamic principles
• Direct experience taking thermal systems through the complete development cycle from concept design through hardware validation and testing
• Ability to operate independently, make high-consequence technical decisions under uncertainty, and establish technical standards
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• U.S. citizenship, lawful permanent residency, or eligible immigration status to meet International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) compliance requirements for this role

Working at Inversion

Inversion is building advanced reentry systems to enable fast, reliable space-based delivery worldwide. Our spacecraft can carry payloads to any location on Earth within an hour, navigating extreme reentry conditions and landing with high precision. Backed by Y Combinator, Spark Capital, and Lockheed Martin Ventures, and partnering with the U.S. Space Force and NASA, we are developing dual-use capabilities for national security and future commercial applications. This full-time position is based at our Playa Vista, California headquarters and requires in-office presence.

Ready to Apply?

To apply, complete your application directly on this page, or you'll be redirected to the employer's application platform to finish submitting there.