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Thermal Manufacturing Engineer

Etched· Production
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San JoseFull-timePosted 2mo ago

About the role

We are seeking a Thermal Manufacturing Engineer to own the development, qualification, and scaling of thermal management manufacturing processes for Etched's silicon-to-system products, with a focus on liquid cooling systems (cold plates) and the associated fabrication and production processes.

Responsibilities

  • Own the end-to-end manufacturing engineering for thermal components and assemblies (focus on cold plates & manifolds), from NPI through mass production.
  • Develop, qualify, and optimize cold plate fabrication processes including skiving, vacuum brazing, friction stir welding, diffusion bonding, gun drilling, and extrusion-based channel formation.
  • Define process parameters, controls, and acceptance criteria for each manufacturing method; establish capability benchmarks (Cpk, yield, leak rate, flatness, pressure drop).
  • Partner with thermal and mechanical design teams early in development to drive DFx for liquid cooling system designs.
  • Lead process qualification and first-article inspection at CM/supplier sites; own PFMEA, control plans, and process validation documentation.
  • Drive root cause analysis and corrective action for manufacturing defects—leaks, delamination, warpage, insufficient bonding, dimensional non-conformance.
  • Evaluate and qualify new suppliers and manufacturing technologies for cold plates and thermal interface materials.
  • Define and monitor key manufacturing KPIs: yield, leak rate, flatness, cycle time, rework rate, and cost per unit.
  • Collaborate with Manufacturing Test to integrate cold plate pressure testing, flow testing, and thermal performance validation into production lines.
  • Support failure analysis and closed-loop feedback between factory, design, and reliability teams for thermal-related field issues.
  • Build manufacturing dashboards and reporting for cold plate yield, defect pareto, and process capability trends.
  • Drive continuous improvement in cold plate cost, cycle time, and quality through systematic DOEs and process optimization.

Qualifications

  • 7+ years of experience in manufacturing engineering, process engineering, or thermal systems manufacturing, with direct hands-on experience producing liquid cold plates or heat exchangers.
  • Demonstrated expertise in two or more of the following cold plate fabrication processes: skiving, vacuum brazing, friction stir welding, diffusion bonding, gun drilling, or extrusion-based channel formation.
  • Strong understanding of aluminum and copper alloy properties, braze alloy selection, and metallurgical failure modes relevant to thermal hardware.
  • Experience qualifying cold plate manufacturers and running process capability studies (Cpk, GR&R) for leak rate, flatness, pressure drop, and thermal resistance.
  • Hands-on experience with cold plate inspection and test methods: helium leak testing, hydrostatic pressure testing, flow/pressure-drop characterization, flatness measurement.
  • Experience with DFM/DFY reviews for cold plate and liquid cooling system designs.
  • Track record of driving root cause analysis and corrective action for cold plate manufacturing defects in production.
  • Experience working directly with contract manufacturers and thermal component suppliers, preferably in Asia.
  • Familiarity with system-level liquid cooling architectures (single-loop, CDU-based, direct liquid cooling) and how cold plate manufacturing choices affect system-level performance.
  • Strong technical documentation skills: PFMEA, control plans, work instructions, first-article inspection reports.
  • Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Manufacturing Engineering, or a related field.
  • Prior experience in server, HPC, datacenter, or power electronics thermal management is strongly preferred.

Skills

Required:Thermal manufacturing process developmentDFx (Design for x) collaborationProcess validation and PFMEARoot cause analysisSupplier qualificationInspection and testingDFM/DFY reviews

Benefits

  • Medical, dental, and vision packages with generous premium coverage
  • $500 per month credit for waiving medical benefits
  • Housing subsidy of $2,500 per month for those living within walking distance of the office
  • Relocation support for those moving to San Jose (Santana Row)
  • Various wellness benefits covering fitness, mental health, and more
  • Daily lunch and dinner in our office
  • Unlimited compute budget subject to ROI justification
Last updated Sep 17, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.
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About Etched

Etched is building frontier inference clusters: co-designs chips, racks, software and manufacturing to push the pareto frontier for AI hardware.

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