Senior Thermal Engineer, Expeditionary AI / HPC Data Centers
Anduril· Hardware Platform : Hardware Engineering Services
Mountain View, CA$160k - $211kFull-timePosted 4w ago
About the role
Senior Thermal Engineer responsible for the thermal management of expeditionary AI/HPC data centers, owning the full design, analysis, prototyping, testing, and deployment of cooling solutions for air- and liquid-cooled, modular compute infrastructure in austere environments.
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:Heat transfer and fluid dynamicsThermal system modelingData center thermal designCAD (Siemens NX or SolidWorks)
Nice to have:Python or MATLAB
Benefits
- Comprehensive, competitive benefits package (available at little to no cost to employees)
- Top-tier benefits for full-time employees
- Equity grants included in the majority of full-time offers as part of total compensation
Last updated Sep 23, 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
More open roles at Anduril
- Winter 2027 Research Engineer Co-op5d agoSanta Ana, CA · Maritime & Maneuver Dominance : Heavy Metal - Engineering & Operations : Software Engineering
- Vehicle Energy Systems Lead5d agoCosta Mesa, CA · Maritime & Maneuver Dominance : Heavy Metal - Engineering & Operations : Systems Engineering
- Vehicle Battery Systems Engineer5d agoSanta Ana, CA · Maritime & Maneuver Dominance : Heavy Metal - Engineering & Operations : Systems Engineering
- Workplace Manager5d agoCosta Mesa, CA · Core Operations : Real Estate & Facilities : Facilities
- Vehicle Integration Technician, Dive-LD5d agoQuonset, RI · Manufacturing : Undersea Reconnaissance & Strike - Production : Production Operations