Technical Specialist – Refrigerant Heat Exchangers (Condensers, Evaporators, IRD & Desiccant)
On-siteWarren, Michigan, United States
Job Summary
Provide expert judgment and analysis for the design, development, and implementation of refrigerant heat exchangers including condensers, evaporators, IRDs, and desiccant technologies. Act as the technical owner for these components across vehicle programs, managing supplier engineering solutions and driving strategy application. Lead innovation projects, approve core designs and interfaces, and develop Interface Control Documents and component specifications. Drive virtual analysis with internal teams and suppliers, manage component cost and quality strategy, and conduct quality reviews and DFMEAs. Track, analyze, and resolve warranty and field issues through root cause analysis and corrective action implementation. Support Product Development Teams and special projects while ensuring adherence to engineering best practices and documentation requirements. This role requires extensive experience in automotive refrigerant heat exchanger development and system integration, with a hybrid schedule and travel under 25%.
Required Qualifications
- Extensive experience in the design, specification, validation, and manufacturing of heat exchangers
- Strong understanding of heat transfer, fluid dynamics, materials, joining methods, and high-volume automotive manufacturing processes
- Knowledge of refrigerant behavior, oil migration, and system-level HVAC / heat pump operation
- Creativity, initiative, and a high level of independent technical judgment
- Support and regular travel to Lockport production facility
- Extensive experience in automotive refrigerant heat exchanger development, sourcing, validation, and production launch
- Demonstrated technical expertise in condenser, evaporator, IRD, and desiccant design, including system integration considerations
- Strong understanding of: Heat transfer and thermodynamics
- Refrigerant flow distribution and oil management
- Airflow and pressure drop tradeoffs
- Materials selection and corrosion durability
- Experience managing suppliers on technical deliverables, including design, analysis, validation, and manufacturing readiness
- Demonstrated skill in supplier technical management and purchasing strategy support
- Experience developing and executing RASICs for cross-functional engineering deliverables (CAE, Dimensional Engineering & GD&T, Manufacturing Bill of Process, CAD/PLM, Engineering Release/ECR)
- Experience with component and system-level testing, including thermal performance, pressure cycling, vibration, environmental durability, and vehicle integration testing
- Strong oral and written communication skills, with the ability to communicate complex technical topics clearly to diverse audiences
- High level of analytical ability to solve unusual and complex engineering problems
- Understanding of DFSS methodologies
- Ability to work effectively with cross-functional partners to meet shared objectives
- Strong demonstration of innovation and owning the outcome
- Demonstration of Artificial Intelligence tool usage applied to productivity enhancement (ex: analysis of CAE results, customer complaints, etc.)
- Deep technical experience in heat exchanger manufacturing processes, such as: Aluminum brazing (CAB, vacuum brazing)
- Tube/fin and microchannel architectures
- Header and manifold joining methods
- Desiccant integration and sealing strategies
- Experience with HVAC and automotive heat pump systems for ICE and BEV applications
- Demonstrated expertise in heat exchanger integration with vehicle airflow, packaging constraints, and assembly manufacturing requirements
- Experience developing service and UPC/FNA BOM strategies
- Familiarity with PE diagrams, refrigerants, and system-level thermal architectures
- Master's degree in Science or Engineering
- This role is categorized as hybrid
- The selected candidate is expected to report to a specific location at least 3 times a week
- The selected candidate will be required to travel <25% for this role
Desired Qualifications
- Black Belt / Red X knowledge preferred
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