Thermal Engineering Technical Leader

Location: San Jose, CA (Hybrid – minimum 3 days onsite/week)

Compensation: $168K – $241K base + bonus + potential RSUs

Employment Type: Full-time | Direct Hire

Industry: Hardware / Data Center / Networking Systems

Client: Confidential Global Technology Leader

A global hardware leader is seeking a Thermal Engineering Technical Leader to drive next-generation cooling solutions for high-performance compute and networking systems. This role requires deep experience with liquid and air cooling technologies, strong technical leadership, and the ability to work across engineering, operations, and supply chain teams.

You will lead the evaluation, design, validation, and qualification of thermal solutions at the product level, including cold plates, CDUs, heat sinks, vapor chambers, and interface materials. The ideal candidate will have experience in productizing thermal systems, not just lab validation or simulation.

Lead development and qualification of advanced thermal solutions for ASICs, optics, and power systems

Own thermal system architecture: modeling, simulation, prototyping, and testing

Work directly with suppliers and manufacturers on component integration, test plans, and performance validation

Define design parameters and correlate test results with simulations and models

Collaborate with hardware design, mechanical, and reliability teams to ensure system-level thermal integrity

Contribute to long-term thermal roadmap for new platforms

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical or Chemical Engineering (Master’s preferred)

8–15+ years of experience designing thermal solutions for electronic systems

Strong background in liquid cooling systems: cold plates, CDUs, manifolds, pumps

Hands-on experience with system-level thermal validation and testing

Proficient in CFD tools, thermal simulation, and design-to-test correlation

Experience with TIM materials, vapor chambers, and high-power air cooling technologies

Experience bringing liquid cooling products to market (not just concept or R&D)

Knowledge of component packaging technologies: BGA, Flip-Chip, 2.5D/3D

Experience with qualification methods, failure analysis, and system reliability

Effective communicator with ability to present thermal findings to executive teams

Collaborative mindset; able to influence across cross-functional teams

Onsite Hybrid: Must be onsite in San Jose 3+ days per week

Relocation: Considered for exceptional candidates

High-visibility team with ownership of next-gen platform design

Strategic alignment with AI and high-performance computing innovations