Senior Thermal Design Engineer

Senior Thermal Design Engineer Advanced Air Cooling

Location: San Jose, CA
Work Arrangement: 100% Onsite
Employment Type: Full-Time
T Compensation: Base + bonus + equity/stock options

Job Overview

We are seeking a Senior Thermal Design Engineer to join an innovative engineering team developing next-generation thermal management and cooling solutions for advanced electronic devices.

This role will focus on thermal architecture, air cooling, airflow management, CFD simulation, thermal validation, and product development for compact, high-performance electronic systems.

The ideal candidate will have strong hands-on experience designing thermal solutions for consumer electronics, computing platforms, embedded electronics, or other compact high-power electronic products.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and own thermal architectures and cooling strategies for advanced electronic products.
• Perform component- and system-level thermal and airflow analysis using CFD.
• Design and optimize airflow paths, heat sinks, heat spreaders, ducting, and other thermal components.
• Analyze forced and natural convection, conduction, pressure drop, and heat transfer.
• Identify and mitigate thermal hotspots and optimize overall system thermal performance.
• Perform thermal simulations using tools such as ANSYS Icepak, Fluent, FloTHERM, or equivalent CFD platforms.
• Support thermal validation using thermocouples, IR thermography, pressure/flow measurements, and other laboratory techniques.
• Evaluate thermal margins, component temperatures, reliability, and derating requirements.
• Work closely with mechanical, electrical, product, manufacturing, and R&D teams.
• Take thermal solutions from concept and simulation through prototyping, validation, and production.
• Support design reviews, technical documentation, supplier engagement, and manufacturing activities.
• Present technical findings and recommendations to engineering leadership and cross-functional teams.

Required Qualifications

• 7+ years of hands-on thermal engineering/design experience.
• MS or PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Thermal Engineering, or a related field preferred.
• Strong understanding of heat transfer and fluid dynamics.
• Hands-on experience with CFD and thermal simulation.
• Experience with ANSYS Icepak, Fluent, FloTHERM, or equivalent.
• Strong understanding of air cooling, airflow, forced convection, and thermal management.
• Experience with electronic cooling components such as:
  • Heat sinks
  • Heat pipes
  • Vapor chambers
  • Heat spreaders
  • Thermal interface materials
  • Fans/blowers
  • Ducting and flow paths
• Experience with thermal testing and validation.
• Experience taking engineering designs from prototype through production.
• Strong mechanical design and engineering fundamentals.
• Excellent communication and cross-functional collaboration skills.