← All roles

Senior Thermal Engineer, Expeditionary AI / HPC Data Centers

Anduril· Hardware Platform : Hardware Engineering Services
Apply on company site
Costa Mesa, CA$146k - $194kFull-timePosted 2mo ago

About the role

Senior Thermal Engineer responsible for the thermal management of deployable expeditionary AI/HPC data centers, including air- and water-side cooling, heat rejection, and immersion/liquid cooling in austere environments. Leads design, analysis, prototyping, testing, and field deployment to ensure reliable high-density compute at forward operating locations.

Responsibilities

  • Own the thermal design and analysis of deployable data center cooling systems—air-side and water-side cooling, heat rejection, chilled water plant, and liquid cooling—from rack and chip level up through the full facility.
  • Use first principles to discern the right level of analysis, running hand calcs, spreadsheets, and MATLAB/Python first-order models before detailed design.
  • Define cooling architecture and heat-rejection strategy—CRAH/CRAC, air-side economization, chilled water plants, dry coolers, CDUs, rear-door heat exchangers, and direct-to-chip and immersion liquid cooling—to keep equipment within limits as power density scales.
  • Develop cooling approaches for high-density racks and trade off air, liquid, and hybrid cooling for modular, transportable systems in austere, high-ambient environments.
  • Work with electrical, mechanical, and facilities engineers to characterize IT and equipment heat loads across operating and failure modes.
  • Weigh cooling architectures against reliability, efficiency (PUE/WUE), and total cost, driving trade studies that balance thermal margin with capital and operating cost.
  • Own the thermal FEA/CFD and system models, predict facility performance, and set red/yellow limits for commissioning and operation.
  • Lead prototype builds, field testing, commissioning, and operational validation of cooling designs (CAD, sensor and DAQ selection, data post-processing, results).
  • Present thermal status at internal and customer reviews with a clear view of timelines and technical status.
  • Develop internal tools to improve analysis effectiveness and efficiency.
  • Support failure reviews and root-cause analysis with test data and thermal analysis.

Qualifications

  • MS or higher in mechanical engineering, applied physics, or related field focused on heat transfer, fluid dynamics, and HVAC
  • In-depth understanding of heat transfer and fluid dynamics
  • 5+ years designing thermal management systems for data centers or comparable mission-critical infrastructure
  • Full-spectrum data center thermal experience—air-side and water-side cooling, heat rejection, chilled water plant design, power density management, and liquid cooling
  • Steady-state and transient system modeling of thermal management systems, including HVAC and refrigerant simulations
  • Validating and testing data center thermal equipment, with knowledge of applicable operating standards
  • Track record of staying abreast of the latest data center thermal management technologies
  • CAD experience with Siemens NX or SolidWorks

Skills

Required:Thermal design and analysisFirst-principles analysisFEA/CFDCAD

Benefits

  • Competitive benefits package
  • Top-tier benefits for full-time employees (health, recovery, and more)
  • Equity grants included in most full-time offers
Last updated Aug 26, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.

About Anduril

defense-aero-and-safetyliquid-ai-recruiting-targetsetter-30setter-30-2026-q1wing-list-2026wing-list-2026-giga-stage
Company profileWebsite

More open roles at Anduril