FEA Mechanical Engineer

VPE Thermal, a subsidiary of Vacuum Process Engineering, is a world-renowned leader in microchannel heat exchanger design and manufacturing. Our company serves a wide range of industries with commercial products including power generation, chemical processing, oil/gas, nuclear and renewable energy with state-of-the-art heat exchangers. In addition to commercial products, we maintain a strong culture of internal R&D with exciting projects using cutting edge manufacturing technology and design/analysis tools to invent the heat exchangers of tomorrow. Our current team at VPE Thermal is offering an opportunity for an experienced finite element analysis engineer with a strong background in solid mechanics, fluid dynamics, and heat transfer to join a rapidly growing company with significant career advancement opportunities. As an addition to the team, you will have the opportunity to learn from experts in the field with decades of experience and draw on your own background to contribute to projects that result in hardware that will go into service.

Job Description:

As an FEA mechanical engineer at VPE Thermal, your primary role will revolve around developing simulations of heat exchanger designs provided by a senior engineer. Your work will focus on thermal analysis to obtain temperature distribution and performance predictions and stress analysis for mechanical integrity and durability analysis. The results of your simulations will provide feedback to the design team to improve heat exchanger thermal performance, operational lifetime, and manufacturability. On any day you may be asked to produce thermal simulations of internal convective heat transfer, mechanical simulations of pressure/thermal loading, speak to customers about operational requirements or design specifications, write reports or presentations to document findings, or anything in between.

Required Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering from accredited four-year college or university
• Course work in solid mechanics, thermodynamics, heat transfer, and fluid dynamics
• More than 5 years’ experience working in FEA with strong focus on solid mechanics
• Computational modeling skills including model V&V, parametric studies, and sensitivity analysis
• Ability to interpret modeling results (thermal or mechanical) to make design decisions
• Knowledgeable about material failure modes including creep, fatigue and creep-fatigue interaction
• Document research findings in a clear concise manner and present to engineering peers
• Basic project management including quoting, scheduling, budgeting, and execution

Desired Experience:

• Master’s degree with advanced coursework and/or research in solid mechanics and heat transfer
• Experience in Ansys Mechanical thermal and structural modeling including APDL
• Prior work using codes such as ASME BPVC, B31.3, B31.1, B16.9
• More than two years working in high paced manufacturing environment
• Proven track record of interfacing with customers to deliver projects on time and within budget
• Interpret and deliver products adhering to customer design specifications
• Basic manufacturing processes including cutting, milling, forming, and welding of stainless steel
• Identify and diagnose issues with root cause analysis
• Design and construct test equipment for heat transfer or fluid dynamics experiments