Aerospace Structures & Thermal Engineer

The Role:

Helogen is seeking an Aerospace Structures & Thermal Engineer in Los Angeles to design, develop, and deliver the structures, thermal systems, and flight hardware that enable our vehicles to perform in demanding aerospace environments. You'll be joining a small team of high-caliber engineers, scientists, and operators united by the belief that the microgravity environment of space represents one of the greatest untapped opportunities in the history of medicine and industry. We value execution over perfection, clarity over complexity, and ownership over handholding. We move quickly, learn fast, and adapt as the company evolves

As our Aerospace Structures & Thermal Engineer, you'll design and test aerospace vehicles that can withstand the extreme environments of space. You’ll guide structural and thermal analyses from early concept through flight operations. You’ll optimize materials for flight, develop high-temperature systems, and support testing and qualification efforts that ensure our systems meet performance, reliability, and mission requirements.

This role is ideal for a hands-on engineer who has real experience testing and breaking hardware, learning from failures, and iterating toward better solutions. We're looking for a builder who understands manufacturing constraints, can evaluate complex tradeoffs, make sound technical decisions, and has seen flight hardware through to deployment. As an early member of the engineering team, you'll have real ownership over your work and a direct hand in shaping the systems that will power Helogen's future.

How You’ll Make An Impact:

• Design, develop, and deliver aerospace structures, thermal systems, and flight hardware for advanced spaceflight programs

• Own structural and thermal analyses throughout the development lifecycle, from concept generation through flight operations

• Develop and evaluate vehicle architectures, material selections, and design trades that balance performance, mass, manufacturability, reliability, and cost

• Perform structural sizing, stress analysis, thermal modeling, and margin assessments for flight hardware

• Support the development of high-temperature systems, thermal protection approaches, thermal management solutions, and advanced material applications

• Design components, assemblies, mechanisms, and integrated vehicle structures using modern engineering design tools

• Develop qualification, environmental, thermal, vibration, and structural test plans and support test execution

• Work closely with systems, avionics, software, GNC, manufacturing, and mission operations teams to deliver integrated vehicle solutions

• Support supplier selection, manufacturing oversight, hardware integration, and production planning activities

• Participate in design reviews, technical decision-making, anomaly investigations, and post-flight assessments

• Contribute to engineering processes, design standards, and future vehicle development efforts

What We're Looking For:

• Requirements:

  • Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related technical discipline

  • Hands-on experience developing aerospace structures, thermal systems, mechanical hardware, or other complex engineering systems

  • Strong understanding of structural mechanics, thermodynamics, heat transfer, materials science, and aerospace design fundamentals

  • Technical depth; you’ve performed engineering analyses and supported hardware through design, manufacturing, integration, testing, and qualification

  • Comfortable speaking about manufacturing constraints, failure modes, and design tradeoffs from direct hardware experience

  • Proficiency with finite element analysis tools such as Nastran, Abaqus, ANSYS, or equivalent engineering software

  • Strong first-principles engineering and problem-solving skills

  • Sound engineering judgment and the ability to make confident decisions with incomplete information

  • Excellent communication and collaboration skills

  • Demonstrated ownership of technical projects from concept through implementation

• Nice to have:

  • Background in spacecraft, launch vehicles, reentry systems, missiles, or other high-performance aerospace platforms

  • Understanding of thermal protection systems, high-temperature materials, or extreme environment thermal management

  • Familiarity with composite structures, lightweight structures, or bonded assemblies and designing for manufacturability in aerospace or other tightly constrained production environments

  • Experience with structural dynamics, vibration, shock, and environmental testing through flight qualification and hardware certification

  • Prior work in rapid prototyping, iterative hardware development, and test-driven design cycles

  • Startup or fast-paced engineering environment experience

  • Experience taking flight systems from concept through deployment

Compensation:

The salary range for this position is $150,000-$180,000 with equity offered. Qualified candidates must be based in Los Angeles or willing to relocate there.

Benefits:

• Unlimited PTO

• Health, dental, vision and life insurance

• 401(k) program

• Membership to OneMedical

• Be part of creating something new that will change the world

Export Control Requirements

Due to the nature of the work performed, applicants must be a U.S. Person as defined by U.S.* export control regulations or otherwise eligible to access export-controlled information and technology.
*U.S. citizen, U.S. lawful permanent resident, or protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3) (i.e., individual admitted to the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum in the U.S.)