Description
Leidos currently has an opening for a Thermal/Mechanical Design Engineer to work in our Arlington, Virginia office. This is a highly dynamic and integrative environment in which talented and creative engineers can thrive working on a diverse array of multidisciplinary projects in its Electronic Warfare Division. We are seeking a broadly trained and highly motivated engineer with a strong thermal engineering background to support advanced technology programs from research and development through productization, with emphasis on electronics packaging, PCB/card-level thermal analysis, mechanical design, and reliable operation in constrained small-volume assemblies.
Primary Responsibilities:
Lead and perform thermal engineering analyses for electronics packaging, PCB and circuit-card assemblies, modules, and small-volume enclosures used in land-based, airborne, and/or space applications.
Provide mechanical engineering leadership on new R&D efforts, current designs, and existing products, including trade studies, requirements generation, design development, design reviews, and root-cause investigations.
Partner with electrical, mechanical, systems, and science teams to influence PCB layout, component placement, materials selection, interface design, and packaging trades for thermal performance.
Support applied research and engineering development of thermal-mechanical solutions and products across multidisciplinary programs.
Work within a lab environment and be hands-on with hardware, including thermal instrumentation, proto@type evaluation, and design iteration.
Basic Qualifications:
Experience performing thermal analysis and heat dissipation analysis for electronics, PCBs, circuit cards, card cages, enclosures, or similarly constrained packaging volumes.
Experience with design, modeling, and analysis of mechanical components and assemblies.
Experience in electronics packaging design, including 3D modeling, thermal management, mechanical integration, and manufacturable mechanical design.
Experience using SolidWorks, SolidWorks Simulation, and SolidWorks Flow or comparable CAD, mechanical and thermal analysis.
Experience with FEA and CFD concepts, including conduction, convection, radiation, contact resistance, airflow restrictions, and component junction-to-ambient thermal paths.
Experience working with cross-functional development teams; motivated self-starter able to work under minimal supervision.
Demonstrated strong writing, presentation, and interpersonal skills.
B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering, Thermal Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related field from an accredited college/university with at least 8 years of relevant mechanical or thermal engineering experience.
Secret Security Clearance with the ability to obtain a Top-Secret Security Clearance.
Occasional travel is required.
Preferred Qualifications:
Develop or validate thermal models using finite element analysis (FEA), computational fluid dynamics (CFD), hand calculations, and empirical test data to ensure hardware meets operational requirements across expected environments.
Experience in advanced electronics packaging, chip-to-ambient thermal resistance, board-to-chassis conduction, thermal interface materials, heat spreaders, heat sinks, cold plates, or other passive/active cooling approaches.
Experience with thermal management of next-generation heterogeneous integrated circuits, chip-centric cooling techniques in harsh environments, and/or radiation shielding.
Experience with requirements flow-down, thermal margin reporting, design verification, and documentation supporting transition from proto@type to production.
Experience with rapid prototyping techniques including 3D printing and proto@type fixture development.
Knowledge of mechanical and thermal engineering concepts associated with airborne and satellite payload systems.
Demonstrated leadership of small technical teams and projects.
Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Thermal Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related field from an accredited college/university with at least 6 years of relevant mechanical or thermal engineering experience.
NKE
ElectronicWarfare
If you're looking for comfort, keep scrolling. At Leidos, we outthink, outbuild, and outpace the status quo - because the mission demands it. We're not hiring followers. We're recruiting the ones who disrupt, provoke, and refuse to fail. Step 10 is ancient history. We're already at step 30 - and moving faster than anyone else dares.
Original Posting:
July 9, 2026
For U.S. Positions: While subject to change based on business needs, Leidos reasonably anticipates that this job requisition will remain open for at least 3 days with an anticipated close date of no earlier than 3 days after the original posting date as listed above.
Pay Range:
Pay Range $107,900.00 - $195,050.00
The Leidos pay range for this job level is a general guideline onlyand not a guarantee of compensation or salary. Additional factors considered in extending an offer include (but are not limited to) responsibilities of the job, education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity, alignment with market data, applicable bargaining agreement (if any), or other law.
About Leidos
Leidos is an industry and technology leader serving government and commercial customers with smarter, more efficient digital and mission innovations. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, with 47,000 global employees, Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $16.7 billion for the fiscal year ended January 3, 2025. For more information, visit www.Leidos.com .
Pay and Benefits
Pay and benefits are fundamental to any career decision. That's why we craft compensation packages that reflect the importance of the work we do for our customers. Employment benefits include competitive compensation, Health and Wellness programs, Income Protection, Paid Leave and Retirement. More details are available at www.leidos.com/careers/pay-benefits .
Securing Your Data
Beware of fake employment opportunities using Leidos' name. Leidos will never ask you to provide payment-related information during any part of the employment application process (i.e., ask you for money), nor will Leidos ever advance money as part of the hiring process (i.e., send you a check or money order before doing any work). Further, Leidos will only communicate with you through emails that are generated by the Leidos.com automated system - never from free commercial services (e.g., Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail) or via WhatsApp, Telegram, etc. If you received an email purporting to be from Leidos that asks for payment-related information or any other personal information (e.g., about you or your previous employer), and you are concerned about its legitimacy, please make us aware immediately by emailing us at LeidosCareersFraud@leidos.com .
If you believe you are the victim of a scam, contact your local law enforcement and report the incident to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/#/) .
Commitment to Non-Discrimination
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, race, ethnicity, age, national origin, citizenship, religion, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, pregnancy, family structure, marital status, ancestry, domestic partner status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran or military status, or any other basis prohibited by law. Leidos will also consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories consistent with relevant laws.
REQNUMBER: R-00187003
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status. Leidos will consider qualified applicants with criminal histories for employment in accordance with relevant Laws. Leidos is an equal opportunity employer/disability/vet.
