What are the responsibilities and job description for the Thermal Test Engineer position at SwirlX, Inc.?
Position
Test Engineer – Thermal / Fluid Systems
Location
San Diego, CA
Company
SwirlX develops next-generation compact heat exchangers for AI data center cooling. Our technology enables higher rack power density by significantly improving heat transfer performance while reducing size and pressure loss. We work at the intersection of advanced geometry design, additive manufacturing, and experimental validation.
We are looking for a hands-on Test Engineer to build and operate thermal-fluid test systems to validate next-generation heat exchanger designs.
Mission
• Build and operate experimental infrastructure to validate high-performance heat exchangers
• Generate high-quality physical data to guide design optimization
• Bridge design, CFD simulation, and real-world testing
Responsibilities
• Design and execute experiments for thermal-fluid systems and heat exchangers
• Develop detailed test plans to validate product performance
• Design and build liquid cooling test loops and experimental setups
• Install sensors, instrumentation, and data acquisition systems
• Execute test sequences and analyze experimental data
• Document results and communicate findings to engineering teams
• Provide feedback to design teams for performance improvement and manufacturability
• Support customer demonstrations and prototype validation
Required Qualifications
• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related field
• Strong fundamentals in fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, and heat transfer
• Hands-on experience building experimental setups or prototypes
• Familiarity with sensors, instrumentation, and data acquisition systems
• Experience with CAD tools (SolidWorks or similar)
• Comfortable analyzing experimental data using Excel, Matlab, or Python
• Ability to work independently in a fast-paced startup environment
Preferred Qualifications
• Experience with liquid cooling systems or heat exchangers
• Experience with data acquisition systems (LabVIEW, Python, etc.)
• Experience designing and assembling test rigs or flow loops
• Familiarity with metal additive manufacturing or advanced manufacturing processes
• Experience with CFD tools such as ANSYS Fluent or similar
• Experience in data center cooling, automotive thermal systems, or aerospace thermal systems
Nice to Have
• Experience with 3D printing or additive manufacturing workflows
• Experience with instrumentation calibration and uncertainty analysis
• Startup experience or working in early-stage hardware teams