Junior Thermofluids Analyst

About the Company

Rocket Lab is an integrated space business that provides launch services, spacecraft design and manufacturing, payload solutions, satellite components, and related products and services. Its work supports a wide range of missions, including scientific research, Earth observation, climate-focused initiatives, national security, and advanced technology demonstrations.

The company’s Electron vehicle has become one of the most frequently launched rockets in the U.S. each year and has placed more than 230 satellites into orbit. At the same time, Rocket Lab is advancing Neutron, a reusable medium-lift launch vehicle designed for larger constellation deployments. Its Space Systems division develops satellites, payloads, and components, including hardware chosen for NASA missions to the Moon and Mars, as well as parts used on the James Webb Space Telescope.

Rocket Lab emphasizes execution over talk and focuses on building and delivering real space systems.

Team and Role

The Neutron program is responsible for bringing the new rocket, along with its launch and test infrastructure, into operation. This includes design and testing of structures and components, engine development and testing, and the setup of launch pads and test sites.

In this role, you will join the Thermofluids Analysis team and support the development and validation of launch vehicles through modelling, simulation, and data-driven analysis. The work spans aerodynamic performance, thermal response, plume interaction, and venting behaviour.

What You Will Do

• Carry out, verify, and document CFD studies for launch vehicle fluid systems, covering compressible and incompressible flow cases such as choked flow, aerodynamics, internal flow, and two-phase behaviour.
• Perform thermal and heat-transfer modelling, including conduction, convection, radiation, integrated thermal analyses for spacecraft, component-level thermal work, aeroheating response, and TPS specification.
• Develop and document thermofluid analyses for primary and secondary launch vehicle systems, including model creation, numerical analysis, material choices, trade-off studies, and optimization.
• Work with design and test teams to refine concepts, define test requirements, and confirm that design margins remain positive.
• Process and interpret ground-test and flight data to check that components stay within MPE limits, compare data across flights, spot anomalies, and troubleshoot sensor configuration issues using solid physics understanding.
• Review analyses with peers, record data-processing methods for approval, and prepare acceptance, proto-qualification, and qualification test levels using approved margining methods.
• Assist with subsystem testing by correlating test results with analysis and preparing pre-test and post-test reports.
• Help build standard procedures and catalogs for analysis work, create propellant dynamics models, and support automation of test and flight data review.

Requirements

• A degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a closely related discipline.
• 0 to 2 years of industry experience, preferably in aerospace, automotive, or marine environments.
• Strong grounding in core physical concepts such as heat transfer, electronics, internal flow, and aerodynamics.
• Practical experience with fluid engineering topics such as pressure loss, valves, and sensors.
• Hands-on use of at least one standard CFD tool such as Fluent, CFX, or STAR-CCM+.
• Ability to work with Python and scientific libraries such as numpy, pandas, scipy, and matplotlib.
• Experience building thermal models for components, networks, and lumped-mass systems.
• Exposure to experimental testing, sensor selection, and data post-processing/interpretation for devices such as thermocouples, pressure transducers, accelerometers, strain gauges, and microphones.
• Comfort working under deadline pressure in a demanding environment.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to develop effective working relationships with engineers and other colleagues.

Nice to Have

• Background in dynamic thermofluid systems such as propellant slosh, flow instabilities, or Pogo effects.
• Experience with propellant level sensing and control approaches.
• Knowledge of pumps, pressurization systems, and cryogenic systems.
• Understanding of two-phase thermodynamics, cryogenics, or refrigeration systems.
• Experience with compressible gas modelling for pressure vessels, pressurization systems, and piping.
• Familiarity with thermal environments in space, including orbital and ascent conditions.
• Exposure to thermal protection system design, specification, and implementation.
• Knowledge of HVAC design or analysis.
• Use of thermal modelling tools such as Thermal Desktop, THERMICA, or NX SST.
• Experience using SolidWorks CAD and PDM tools, especially for model review and geometry simplification for analysis.
• Python package development experience, including git, CI, and deployment.
• Familiarity with standards such as MIL-STD-1540, GSFC-STD-7000, ECSS-E-HB-32, and NASA-STD-5001.

Eligibility and Location Notes

This position is based in Auckland, New Zealand and is an onsite role. For applicants seeking to work in New Zealand, background screening will be completed before any offer is made. These checks include nationality verification because access to certain equipment and data is restricted under U.S. ITAR regulations.

Under these rules, eligibility may be limited to citizens of Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland, the European Union, or a NATO member country. Candidates with ineligible dual citizenship or nationality may also be restricted from this role.

Equal Opportunity

Rocket Lab states that it is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate or tolerate harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability, genetics, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or other protected characteristics. This policy applies across hiring and all other employment terms.

Work Style

The company describes its environment as fast-paced and highly driven, with a strong focus on teamwork, resilience, and delivering under pressure. Employees are expected to support one another, stay practical, and remain committed to solving difficult technical challenges.