Thermal System Simulation Integration Engineer

generalmotors; Markham; Hybrid; CAD 80,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid time off

Healthcare benefits

Life insurance

Pension plan

GM Vehicle Purchase Plan

Job summary

General Motors Canada seeks a Technical Expert to advance next-generation virtual thermal system development. You will build fast-running, physics-based models of full vehicle thermal systems, linking them to controls, sensor data, and AI-enabled engineering workflows.

The role spans BEV, PHEV, ICE, and HEV architectures, connecting high-fidelity analysis with reduced-order models and model-based engineering for scalable virtual development. A recent Ph.D.

Qualifications

• PhD from a Canadian university completed within the past five years.
• Strong foundation in thermal-fluid sciences, dynamic systems, controls, or numerics.
• Experience developing physics-based, reduced-order, fast-running models.
• Proficiency in MATLAB/Simulink, Python, C++, or similar tools.

Responsibilities

• Develop and integrate fast-running models of complete vehicle thermal systems across BEV, PHEV, ICE, and HEV architectures.
• Translate detailed thermal analyses into efficient models for rapid simulation and broad engineering use.
• Support model integration with virtual plant environments and cloud workflows.
• Establish reusable model interfaces, parameterization, and validation across variants.
• Develop and apply model predictive control for coupled thermal subsystems.
• Collaborate with controls, software, calibration, testing, and vehicle integration teams for SIL, MIL, and hardware validation.
• Contribute to AI-enabled modeling of vehicle thermal and airflow for plant models.

Skills

thermal-fluid sciences

dynamic systems

controls

numerical methods

engineering modeling

communication

Education

PhD

Tools

MATLAB/Simulink

Python

C++

Modelica

GT-SUITE

Simscape

OpenFOAM

Job description

Job Description

(A 2-year OVIN Telent Fellowship Program with GM Canada - start date: Q4, 2026)

AI Disclosure

As part of the application process, Artificial Intelligence will be used in the hiring process for this role
Hybrid:
This role is categorized as hybrid. This means the successful candidate is expected to report to Markham or Oshawa office three times per week, at minimum

Job Description Summary

General Motors is seeking a Technical Expert to advance next-generation virtual thermal system development. This role will help create fast-running, physics-based models of complete vehicle thermal systems and connect those models with advanced controls, vehicle sensor data, and AI-enabled engineering workflows.

The selected candidate will work on large, cross-functional projects spanning battery electric, plug-in hybrid, internal-combustion, and hybrid-electric vehicle architectures. The work will connect high-fidelity analysis, 1D plant models, reduced-order and fast-running models, model predictive control, state estimation, and vehicle-level validation into a scalable virtual development process.

This is an opportunity for a recent Ph.D. graduate who is willing to work in high-impact engineering programs while developing into a recognized technical leader in vehicle thermal systems, controls, and model-based engineering.

Responsibilities

• Develop and integrate fast-running models of complete vehicle thermal systems across BEV, PHEV, ICE, and HEV architectures.
• Translate detailed thermal system analyses into efficient models that support rapid simulation and broader engineering applications.
• Support model integration with virtual plant environments and cloud-based engineering workflows.
• Establish reusable model interfaces, parameterization methods, and validation processes across vehicle variants.

• Develop and apply model predictive control strategies for coupled vehicle thermal subsystems.
• Evaluate control performance across drive cycles, ambient conditions, thermal loads, actuator limits, and competing cabin-versus-propulsion objectives.
• Collaborate with controls, software, calibration, testing, and vehicle integration teams to support software-in-the-loop, model-in-the-loop, and hardware or vehicle validation.

• Contribute to AI-enabled modeling of vehicle thermal and airflow for thermal plant models.

• Publish or present technical work when appropriate and protect GM intellectual property and confidential information.

Required Qualifications

• Ph.D. from an accredited Canadian university completed within the past five years in Mechanical, Automotive, Aerospace, Chemical, Electrical, or Systems Engineering; Applied Mathematics; Computer Science; or a related field.
• Strong foundation in thermal-fluid sciences, dynamic systems, controls, numerical methods, or a closely related discipline.
• Demonstrated research or project experience developing physics-based, reduced-order, fast-running, or control-oriented models.
• Experience programming in MATLAB/Simulink, Python, C++, or comparable engineering and scientific-computing environments.
• Ability to formulate engineering problems mathematically and assess model accuracy, stability, computational performance, and applicability.
• Strong written, verbal, and technical communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Research or project experience in vehicle thermal management, battery thermal management, HVAC, refrigeration, heat transfer, aerodynamics, airflow, propulsion systems, or energy systems.
• Experience with 1D network modeling, 0D lumped-parameter modeling, Model Predictive Control formulations and Kalman filter integration.
• Experience with Modelica, GT-SUITE, Matlab/Simulink/Simscape, , STAR-CCM+, OpenFOAM or similar tools. Experience in coding C/C++.

Compensation

The salary range for this role is $80,000 to $85,000 per year. The actual base salary a successful candidate will be offered within this range will vary based on factors relevant to the position.

GM DOES NOT PROVIDE IMMIGRATION-RELATED SPONSORSHIP FOR THIS ROLE. DO NOT APPLY FOR THIS ROLE IF YOU WILL NEED GM IMMIGRATION SPONSORSHIP NOW OR IN THE FUTURE

Benefits

The goal of the General Motors of Canada total rewards program is to support the health and well-being of you and your family. Our comprehensive compensation plan currently includes the following benefits, in addition to many others:

• Paid time off including vacation days, holidays, and supplemental benefits for pregnancy, parental and adoption leave.
• Healthcare, dental and vision benefits including health care spending account and wellness incentive.
• Life insurance plans to cover you and your family.
• Company and matching contributions to a Defined Contribution Pension plan to help you save for retirement.
• GM Vehicle Purchase Plan for you, your family, and friends.

About GM

Our vision is a world with Zero Crashes, Zero Emissions and Zero Congestion and we embrace the responsibility to lead the change that will make our world better, safer and more equitable for all.

Why Join Us

We believe we all must make a choice every day – individually and collectively – to drive meaningful change through our words, our deeds and our culture. Every day, we want every employee to feel they belong to one General Motors team.

Non-Discrimination and Equal Employment Opportunities

General Motors is committed to being a workplace that is not only free of unlawful discrimination, but one that genuinely fosters inclusion and belonging. We strongly believe that providing an inclusive workplace creates an environment in which our employees can thrive and develop better products for our customers.

We encourage interested candidates to review the key responsibilities and qualifications for each role and apply for any positions that match their skills and capabilities. Applicants in the recruitment process may be required, where applicable, to successfully complete a role-related assessment(s) and/or a pre-employment screening prior to beginning employment. To learn more, visit How we Hire.

Accommodations

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