What are the responsibilities and job description for the Thermal Engineer position at recruitAbility?
We are seeking a Thermal Systems Engineer to join our team in Lake Forest, CA. This is a unique opportunity for a talented engineer with a diverse skill set to contribute across multiple engineering disciplines in a high-performance, fast-paced environment.
The ideal candidate will perform a wide range of complex thermal and mechanical engineering functions related to the design, testing, and evaluation of thermal systems for electronic systems — including semiconductors, photonics, and embedded devices. Core responsibilities span new design testing, prototype development, and field issue resolution in close collaboration with cross-functional teams
Essential Duties & Responsibilities
- Design and develop thermal components, including thermal interfaces for active thermal control, and integrate solutions into product designs in partnership with design and development teams.
- Conduct thermal analyses, testing, and validation to evaluate component performance and ensure compliance with design specifications.
- Optimize thermal designs to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance overall performance.
- Develop and maintain detailed documentation of designs, analyses, and test results, while staying current with advancements in thermal management technologies and industry standards.
- Collaborate with procurement, manufacturing, quality assurance, and technical support teams to establish specifications and assist in vendor/supplier selection.
- Provide hands-on support during product installation and commissioning at customer sites, and serve as a technical point of contact for customers on select issues.
- Conduct hands-on evaluation of prototype and sub-assembly builds, including thorough performance assessments, and identify risk areas and optimization opportunities.
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Thermal Engineering, or Physics required; Master's degree preferred.
- 5 years of experience in a high-technology environment, ideally as a thermal design, test, or product support engineer.
- Expertise in liquid- and refrigerant-based thermal systems, including chillers and condensing units.
- Background in electronic packaging, testing, and integration of thermal systems into automated handling preferred.
- Experience with heaters, Peltiers, heatsinks, sockets, cryogenics, condensation abatement, and airflow uniformity is a strong plus.
- Experience on cross-functional teams building complex systems involving motion control hardware, electrical, and software components is a plus.
- Familiarity with burn-in ovens and active thermal control solutions for automotive- or military-grade devices is a plus.
- 3D design experience with SolidWorks preferred.
- Strong analytical, problem-solving, and synthesis capabilities.
- Ability to travel up to 20% to customer sites.
- This is an on-site role based in Lake Forest, CA.