Senior Thermal Engineer (AI/Startup) – Silicon Valley

Our premier Silicon Valley AI startup client is hiring a Senior Thermal Engineer to own the full thermal design lifecycle of advanced cooling systems for their next-generation AI infrastructure. This is an individual contributor role for a candidate with deep hands-on expertise in liquid cooling architecture from silicon-level cold plate design through rack-scale fluid infrastructure, CFD simulation, and AI/GPU-based system design.

Responsibilities:

• Own end-to-end thermal design from concept through production, spanning SoC-level cold plate development through rack-scale liquid cooling infrastructure, including hybrid air and liquid cooling systems.
• Design and optimize high-power silicon cold plates, including internal micro-channel geometry, thermal interface integration, and fluid inlet/outlet configuration directly at the SoC package level.
• Architect and validate rack-level liquid cooling infrastructure including manifold layout, blind-mate quick disconnect integration, and full loop pressure and flow management.
• Drive CFD simulation efforts to validate cooling strategies for high-density nodes, optimizing fluid flow, pressure drop, and heat transfer from chip to rack.
• Partner closely with internal hardware teams and external partners to deliver integrated thermal solutions for AI/GPU-based platforms.

Requirements:

• B.S. or M.S. in Mechanical Engineering or a related field.
• 8+ years of thermal engineering experience with deep expertise in liquid cooling systems spanning SoC-level and rack-level implementations in high-performance or data center environments.
• Proven track record of owning at least one full product lifecycle — from concept through high-volume manufacturing (HVM).
• Liquid Cooling Expertise: Expert-level experience in cold plate design for high-power silicon devices and rack-level liquid-cooled manifold systems, including micro-channel optimization, blind-mate quick disconnect integration, and full loop architecture from node to rack scale.
• Fluid Systems & Simulation: Deep understanding of water pressure dynamics, flow balancing, and leak-mitigation best practices, with proficiency in CFD tools (e.g., Ansys Fluent, Icepak, or equivalent) to simulate and validate complex thermal and fluid systems from component to system level.
• Familiarity with airflow principles and air cooling requirements for high-density server and rack architectures.
• Direct experience with AI/GPU-based compute architectures and ultra-high-density power delivery systems.

Relocation and Visa Requirements:

• Strongly prefer candidates that reside in the San Francisco Bay Area/Silicon Valley Area.
• All candidates MUST be a US Citizen or US Green Card Holder, and reside in the San Francisco Bay/Silicon Valley Area.

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