Thermal Design Engineer

RESPONSIBILITIES - Own thermal design and analysis across the robot including arms, end effectors, and on-board compute from concept through volume production. - Develop thermal architectures for high-torque-density actuators (motors, gearboxes, drives) in joints, where heat dissipation is the limiting factor on continuous performance. - Design cooling solutions for end effectors within tight volume, mass, and cable-routing constraints. - Develop thermal management for on-board compute (CPUs, GPUs, custom accelerators, power electronics), including airflow, heat sinks, heat pipes, vapor chambers, TIMs, and active cooling where needed. - Build thermal models (analytical, CFD, FEA) and validate them with hands-on testing (thermocouple instrumentation, IR imaging, calorimetry, and accelerated stress tests) - Specify and select thermal components (TIMs, fans, heat pipes, heat sinks, blowers, phase-change materials) and own supplier relationships. - Define thermal limits, derating curves, and protection logic in collaboration with electrical, firmware, and controls teams. - Contribute to DFM/DFA so thermal solutions scale from low-volume prototypes to high-volume production. - Develop accelerated test plans to validate thermal performance over the product's lifetime, including environmental and duty-cycle stress. QUALIFICATIONS - 5+ years of experience (or equivalent "hard tech" projects) designing and validating thermal solutions for complex electromechanical systems. - Strong fundamentals in conduction, convection, and radiation, plus working knowledge of two-phase cooling and heat-pipe / vapor-chamber design. - Hands-on experience with CFD tools (Ansys Icepak, Flotherm, SolidWorks Flow Simulation, or similar) and thermal FEA. - Track record solving thermal problems in at least one of: high-torque-density motors / actuators, dense power electronics, or compute (CPU / GPU / custom accelerator). - Comfortable instrumenting, testing, and debugging thermal performance on real hardware - Experience designing for volume processes (extrusion, die casting, brazing, stamping) and working with thermal component suppliers and contract manufacturers. - High proficiency in SolidWorks, Catia, or similar CAD tools. - Hands-on problem-solving approach with the ability to iterate quickly. - You are comfortable with ambiguity, move fast, and have an "engineering curiosity" that drives you to understand how the entire system works, not just your part. BONUS - Experience in robotics, prosthetics, EV powertrains, drones, or other dense electromechanical systems. - Familiarity with motor / actuator thermal modeling (winding hot-spot estimation, lumped-parameter networks). - Experience with liquid cooling or hybrid air / liquid systems. - PhD or research experience in thermal sciences.