Senior Thermal Engineer, Research & Development
On-siteSunnyvale, California, United States
Job Summary
Lead applications development projects for local Silicon Valley customers, driving thermal materials engineering, heat transfer, and mechanical design from concept to commercialization. Execute comprehensive R&D programs focused on scale-up for advanced electronics and semiconductor applications, delivering next-generation thermal management solutions such as TIMs, heat spreaders, and composite systems. Serve as the local Subject Matter Expert in thermal engineering, collaborating with cross-functional SMEs to rapidly solve customer challenges in consumer electronics, robotics, and aerospace. Identify commercial value by leveraging expertise in structure–property relationships and thermal conductivity enhancement, while providing technical training and mentoring junior engineers. Represent Qnity SVTC in industry consortiums and conferences to connect the broader R&D organization with regional opportunities.
Required Qualifications
- M.S. degree in mechanical engineering or closely related field
- 2-3 years of directly applicable engineering work experience with thermal materials and thermal management technologies
- Demonstrated expertise in thermal interface materials (TIMs), gap fillers, phase-change materials, dielectric materials, or thermally conductive composites for electronics applications
- Demonstrated expertise in thermal design, characterization, reliability testing, and process development working with thermal materials such as but not limited to TIM1, 1.5, and 2 materials
- Knowledge of structure–property relationships in thermally conductive materials, including particle-filled systems, hybrid materials, and anisotropic heat conduction designs
- Strong fundamentals in heat transfer, phase change materials, thermal modeling, and thermal characterization techniques
- Proficiency with some specific and standard thermal and thermomechanical design and modeling software packages such as Ansys, Comsol, SolidWorks, AutoCAD, etc.
- Proficiency with specific thermal characterization tools and methods such as LFA, DSC, TGA, IR thermography, TIM testers, Phase 12, hot disk, etc.
- Strong technical curiosity, able to learn quickly, and very comfortable working outside core areas of expertise and with cross-functional teams
- Strong analytical, communication, and interpersonal skills
- Track record of successful customer engagement and project leadership
- Familiar with project management best practices such as Agile, Stage Gate, etc.
- Experience working with national and international testing standards such as JEDEC, IPC and ASTM, etc.
- Able and willing to travel as required to support customer projects (up to 20%)
Desired Qualifications
- Demonstrated expertise in semiconductor packaging, power electronics cooling, or high-performance computing thermal challenges
- Ph.D. in mechanical engineering or closely related field
- 3+ years of directly applicable engineering work experience
- Experience working with or for local Silicon Valley companies in the thermal component of relevant industries such as consumer electronics, aerospace & defense, automotive, robotics, telecommunications, data center
- Strong desire to translate research into commercial thermal solutions, with a results-oriented mindset
- Excellent project management, planning, prioritization, and leadership skills
- Strong interpersonal, communication, and presentation skills, with the ability to engage both technical and non-technical stakeholders
- Active in national, regional, and/or local chapters of professional societies and conferences, such as ASME, SEMI-THERM, etc.
- Patent and publication history in relevant technical domains
- Award-winning contributions to R&D organizations
Hiring someone like this?
Get your role in front of qualified candidates on Sorce.