Thermal / Mechanical Lead Engineer

Location: Hybrid – Santa Clara, CA

Type: Full-Time | Compensation: $150K–$300K Competitive Equity

Visa Sponsorship: H-1B, O-1, OPT Available

🚀 About the Opportunity

Initio Capital is hiring a Thermal & Mechanical Engineering Lead on behalf of a high-performance computing startup that’s building custom RISC-V–based server solutions for AI and data-intensive workloads. This is a stealth-mode, venture-backed team led by industry veterans in silicon, architecture, and system design—with the mission to reimagine server infrastructure from the ground up.

This role is perfect for a strategic and hands-on thermal leader ready to architect cooling solutions across the entire stack: from silicon to full server enclosures. You'll collaborate directly with cross-functional teams and vendors to ship enterprise-grade thermal designs that enable performance at the edge of compute boundaries.

🧠 About the Role

As Thermal/Mechanical Lead, you’ll be responsible for end-to-end ownership of mechanical and thermal design for next-gen server and compute systems. You'll guide architecture decisions, validate models with Ansys tools, and oversee component sourcing, prototyping, and testing. You’ll also shape the foundation of the internal hardware design team while working closely with contract manufacturers and external partners.

🔧 What You’ll Do

• Architect and deliver high-efficiency cooling systems (air, liquid, immersion)
• Lead design and simulation using Ansys IcePak and Mechanical for CFD and FEA modeling
• Build and validate thermal models for silicon, modules, and system enclosures
• Develop MCAD designs, manage PLM processes, and align with product timelines
• Source thermal components and manage relationships with suppliers and manufacturers
• Support full lifecycle: concept, prototype, test, and production
• Collaborate with silicon, packaging, and system architects to optimize thermal reliability and performance
• Mentor junior engineers and scale the internal hardware/mechanical team
  
  

✅ What We’re Looking For

• 15 years of hands-on experience in thermal system design, especially for data center hardware and high-density compute
• Expert in Ansys Suite (IcePak, Mechanical) for CFD/FEA modeling
• Strong MCAD/PLM skills (Creo, SolidWorks, or equivalent)
• Proven technical leadership in fast-paced or startup environments
• Fluent in vendor/supplier management and contract manufacturing workflows
• Advanced degree (Ph.D. or MS) in Mechanical Engineering with a focus on conjugate heat transfer or equivalent thermal domain
  
  

🟢 Bonus Points

• Familiarity with CPU socket design, semiconductor packaging, and rack-scale thermal architecture
• Understanding of OCP mechanical design guidelines, colobox and rack-level layout
• Experience in liquid cooling deployments, custom cold plate design, or immersion-cooled infrastructure
• Past work on hardware/software co-optimization in thermally constrained systems
  
  

💸 Compensation & Perks

• Salary: $150K – $300K
• Equity: Competitive early-stage grant
• Hybrid in Santa Clara, CA
• H-1B, O-1, and OPT sponsorship available
• Mission-driven team reinventing the future of compute from silicon up
• Unique opportunity to lead and scale a critical hardware function in a fast-growth environment
  
  

If you’re ready to build thermal systems that power the next era of AI and high-performance computing—this is the role.

Apply now to join the founding hardware team.