Systems and methods for thermal management of a mobile electronic device. During operation of a modular mobile electronic device that is coupled to one or more modules via respective module interfaces of the electronic device, a thermal controller of the electronic device is used to update at least one system thermal goal based on a change for a module thermal model for at least one module coupled to the electronic device. A determination is made as to whether the updated at least one system thermal goal is satisfied based on thermal data provided by a plurality of thermal sensors arranged at locations associated with the electronic device. Responsive to a determination that the updated at least one system thermal goal is not satisfied, the thermal controller controls heat transfer to satisfy the updated at least one thermal goal.