Etched.ai

Thermal /Mechanical Hybrid Engineer

San JosefulltimemidAdded today

About this role

Etched seeks an experienced Thermal/Mechanical Engineer to lead the design and optimization of direct-to-chip cold plate modules and water cooling systems for high-performance AI inference data center hardware. You'll own both thermal and mechanical aspects of advanced cooling solutions, from component selection through testing and validation.

What you'll do

Design and optimize direct-to-chip cold plate modules including pedestals, nozzles, and fin geometries
Develop water cooling systems with manifolds, quick disconnects, CDUs, and heat exchangers for high-power processors
Conduct liquid thermal simulations using tools like Fluent to predict heat exchanger performance
Select and evaluate thermal interface materials (TIMs) to maximize thermal conductivity and heat dissipation
Test, validate, and troubleshoot thermal management systems to meet performance and reliability standards
Collaborate with cross-functional teams on integration of thermal solutions into broader systems

What they're looking for

Direct-to-chip cold plate design and optimization
Water cooling system design
Thermal simulation (Fluent or similar)
Mechanical CAD (NX, Creo, CATIA)
GD&T and mechanical tolerancing
Thermal interface material selection and evaluation
DFM/DFA principles
Advanced cooling concepts (phase change, liquid cooling)

Likely interview questions

Walk us through your experience designing direct-to-chip cold plate modules—what were the key thermal and mechanical challenges you faced, and how did you optimize for both performance and manufacturability?
Describe your proficiency with thermal simulation tools like ANSYS Fluent. How have you used liquid thermal simulations to predict heat exchanger performance and validate designs before physical testing?

Tell us about your experience with thermal interface materials (TIMs). How do you evaluate and select TIMs for different cooling solutions, and what metrics do you use to optimize thermal conductivity?
What water cooling system components have you designed or optimized (manifolds, quick disconnects, CDUs, heat exchangers)? How do you ensure effective integration across these subsystems?
Describe your experience applying GD&T and mechanical tolerancing to cold plate designs. How do you balance thermal performance requirements with manufacturing constraints and DFM/DFA principles?
Have you worked with advanced thermal cooling concepts beyond traditional liquid cooling? What innovative cooling technologies have you explored or implemented?
Walk us through your end-to-end process for testing and validating a thermal management system. How do you identify and resolve thermal performance issues?

Unlock all 7 questions free — and practice them live →

Apply on the employer's site →

Opens the official application on the employer’s site. No login required.