---
title: 'Spacecraft Thermal Engineer at Overview Energy'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/spacecraft-thermal-engineer-overview-energy-ashburn-2n9ct2pc7p14'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-11-06'
---

# Spacecraft Thermal Engineer at Overview Energy

- **Company:** Overview Energy
- **Location:** Ashburn
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-11-04
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-11-06
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/overviewenergy/6cf2b6f5-1483-446b-836b-38b9b8aa6ea1

## Job description

## About Overview Energy

Overview Energy is a mission-driven team committed to building a new layer of energy infrastructure: satellites in geosynchronous orbit that redirect solar energy to terrestrial solar projects via passively safe near-infrared light. We're in the earliest phase, where every thermal path between a multi-kilowatt payload and deep space is designed, built, and tested end-to-end by a small, dedicated team. Headquartered in the Northern Virginia / Washington, DC area and backed by world-class investors, we are advancing the next generation of clean energy technology.

## About The Role

We’re hiring a Spacecraft Thermal Engineer to co-own thermal control for our first spacecraft and the GEO platform behind it. This role is built for someone a few years into their career who has already taken a thermal model into a chamber and seen what the test proved wrong.

A multi-kilowatt payload in geosynchronous orbit has to shed its heat to deep space through full sun and eclipse, year after year. Your design keeps the optics aligned and the electronics alive nearly 36,000 km from anyone who could fix them. Get it right, and the beam lands exactly where solar farms need it.

Based in our Ashburn, VA office, you’ll work alongside our structures, optics, and integration teams. You’ll build the models, run the chamber, and correlate the results yourself. Along the way, you’ll stand up our thermal test capability, carry an SBIR-funded deployable radiator from proposal through test, and write the standards every future spacecraft will use.

## What You'll Do

- Co-own thermal control design for our first spacecraft and GEO platform, from radiator sizing and heater zones to coatings and MLI
- Build and correlate Thermal Desktop and SINDA/FLUINT models, running the hot and cold cases, trades, and margins
- Deliver optical bench temperature maps to the structures and optics teams for Structural Thermal Optical Performance (STOP) analysis, and update them as the geometry changes
- Specify and procure flight thermal hardware, hold suppliers to spec, and verify what arrives
- Stand up our thermal test capability: TVAC chamber upgrades, ambient-pressure testing, precision temperature sensing, heater control, and the procedures to run them safely
- Plan and run thermal balance and thermal cycle tests, then correlate every model to test data
- Define thermal cycling profiles with the structures analyst so their strain measurements and your temperature data line up
- Support 2027 spacecraft integration at partner facilities, installing and checking out strongback and optical bench thermal hardware (up to ~25% travel at peak)
- Defend the thermal design at peer and mission reviews, and own the thermal section of the design package
- Write the thermal design, analysis, and test standards the next engineer inherits

## What We're Looking For From You

- B.S. in Aerospace, Mechanical, Physics, or a closely related field, with 3–8 years of spacecraft thermal design and analysis experience.
- At least one thermal design you carried from Thermal Desktop model through thermal vacuum test and correlation, and can walk us through on a whiteboard, including what the tests told you the model got wrong.
- Working proficiency in Thermal Desktop and SINDA/FLUINT, or a comparable tool and the willingness to switch.
- Hands-on chamber time: instrumenting hardware, running a test, and reducing the data.
- Working knowledge of spacecraft thermal control hardware: temperature sensors, heaters, phase-change materials, heat pipes, MLI, and thermal control coatings.
- Python, MATLAB, or Excel VBA to automate analysis and test data reduction.

We Have a Strong Preference For

- M.S. in a relevant engineering or physics discipline.
- Thermal hardware you designed that has flown.
- STOP analysis on an optical payload: you've handed thermal distortion to an optics team
- Board and box-level electronics thermal design for space.
- Standing up or upgrading a thermal test facility: chamber, DAQ, and heater control.
- Heat pipes, loop heat pipes, or deployable radiators for high-heat-flux payloads.
- Flight thermal hardware integration and test planning.
- Buying thermal hardware from a supplier and verifying it against the spec.
- Writing a proposal for, or leading, an SBIR or other technology development effort.

The salary range for this position is $120,000 - $170,000 commensurate with experience. Individuals with demonstrated exceptional ability may be considered beyond this band.

Our Benefits We take care of our people. In addition to competitive salary and equity, Overview Energy offers comprehensive medical, dental, vision, disability, and life insurance coverage, a health and wellness stipend, 4 weeks paid time off, 2 weeks sick leave, parental leave, and 401(k) matching. Benefits are subject to change at the Company's discretion.

ITAR Requirements This position is subject to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). Candidates must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

## Equal Opportunity Employer

Overview Energy is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are based on merit, competence, and qualifications, without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, ethnicity, veteran status, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, or any other legally protected status.

If you require a reasonable accommodation during the application process, please contact us at talent@overviewenergy.com.

Research shows that women and individuals from underrepresented groups often only apply for roles where they meet every listed qualification. If you believe you can succeed in this role, we encourage you to apply - even if you don't check every box.

## About Overview Energy

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Overview Energy is building a constellation of satellites in geosynchronous orbit that capture sunlight and beam safe, near-infrared energy to receivers on Earth to provide continuous, grid-scale solar power.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Venture-backed)
- **Headquarters**: Ashburn, Virginia, United States
- **Founded**: 2022
- **Founders**: Not publicly listed (founded by a team with expertise in energy, aerospace, and software)

## Core Business
- Primary industry/industries: Space Research and Technology, Aerospace, Clean Energy, Satellite Communication
- Target customers: Utility companies, grid operators, solar project developers, and governments (B2B, Enterprise)
- Mission or purpose statement: To turn uninterrupted sunlight in space into directable, reliable energy on Earth, making solar a 24/7 resource and solving grid demands without costly infrastructure upgrades.

## Products & Services
- **Space Solar Satellite Constellation**: A system of satellites in geosynchronous orbit that capture sunlight 24/7 and convert it into safe, near-infrared light. This light is beamed to large solar projects (receivers) on Earth, which convert it into electricity for the grid. The system is designed for gigawatt-scale energy generation and can redirect power on demand across continents.
- **Airborne Power Transfer (Demonstrated)**: A first-of-a-kind airborne test that proved the core technology works, validating the beam's safety and efficiency using commercially available components.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed
- **Total Funding**: ~$30.1 million (across 2 rounds)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Lowercarbon Capital, Mana Ventures (based on employee talent sources); specific lead investors not publicly named for all rounds.
- **Growth Signals**:
    - Headcount growth of +13.8% monthly (as of mid-2025).
    - Raised a Venture Round of ~$11.7M in July 2024.
    - Filed 5 patents as of 2025.
    - Targeting delivery of grid-scale power by the early 2030s.
    - Has a "capacity reservation agreement" in place, indicating early commercial interest.

## Competitive Advantages
- **24/7 Baseload Solar Power**: Unlike terrestrial solar, the system generates power continuously regardless of weather, time of day, or season, solving the intermittency problem of renewable energy.
- **Passively Safe Technology**: Uses a wide, near-infrared beam that is inherently below eye-safety limits, described as safer than a supermarket barcode scanner.
- **Grid Infrastructure Bypass**: Can deliver energy directly to receivers, bypassing congested transmission corridors and strengthening grid reliability without costly ground upgrades.
- **Commercially Viable Components**: Relies on proven, commercially available parts (laser diodes, solar panels) rather than requiring "leap-of-faith" scientific breakthroughs, reducing technical risk.

## Strategic Focus
- **Scaling for Gigawatt Capacity**: Moving from a validated airborne demonstration to building and launching satellites, with a goal of full constellation build-out and gigawatt-scale energy delivery by the early 2030s.
- **Mass Production**: Designing satellites for mass manufacturing to build multiple gigawatts of capacity.
- **Commercialization**: Securing capacity reservation agreements and partners to ensure a market for the delivered energy.

## Why Work Here
- **Mission-Driven Impact**: Work on a technology that directly addresses climate change and global energy challenges by creating a new, clean baseload power source.
- **Cutting-Edge Technology**: Opportunity to work at the intersection of aerospace, energy, and optical systems, with a focus on building real hardware that flies.
- **Hybrid Work Environment**: Employees work a combination of remote and on-site (in-office) from the Ashburn, VA headquarters.
- **Early-Stage Growth**: As a small, well-funded startup (19-25 employees), there is significant potential for ownership, impact, and career growth as the company scales.
- **Strong Technical Team**: The company attracts talent from top aerospace and tech companies (e.g., Astranis, Starfish Space, RTX).

## Sources
1. [overviewenergy.com](https://overviewenergy.com/)
2. [linkedin.com/company/overviewenergy](https://www.linkedin.com/company/overviewenergy)
3. [jobs.ashbyhq.com/overviewenergy](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/overviewenergy)
4. [cbinsights.com/company/overview-energy](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/overview-energy)
5. [builtin.com/company/overview-energy](https://builtin.com/company/overview-energy)

## Other roles at Overview Energy

- [Structural Dynamics Lead](https://feeny.ai/job/structural-dynamics-lead-overview-energy-ashburn-cmc93fx3t9ja) — Ashburn
- [Electrical Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/electrical-engineer-overview-energy-ashburn-dgrxfk1fmzgb) — Ashburn
- [Optics Lab Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/optics-lab-manager-overview-energy-ashburn-98cbs8adp6fy) — Ashburn
- [General Application / Future Openings](https://feeny.ai/job/general-application-future-openings-overview-energy-ashburn-az71mdwhwhmv) — Ashburn