PhD Research Scholar - Battery Thermal Simulation Engineer

Volvo Energy; Bengaluru; On-site; INR 2,500,000 - 4,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Volvo Energy in Bengaluru seeks a Battery Thermal Simulation Engineer at PhD candidate/recent PhD level to advance thermal design for BESS. You will bridge academic research and industrial application across micro to macro scales, developing models, validating with tests, and contributing to safety and efficiency.

Join Volvo Group's electrification journey, working in a diverse team and leveraging cutting-edge heat transfer methodologies to drive product development for next-generation energy

Qualifications

• Current PhD candidate within 1 year of graduation or recent PhD in battery materials.
• Research focus tied to battery thermal management, electrochemical-thermal modelling.
• Proficient in CFD tools such as ANSYS, Fluent or equivalents.
• Experience building 1D lumped-parameter networks in MATLAB/Simulink or GT-SUITE.
• Deep understanding of Li-ion heat generation, overpotential losses, entropic heating.

Responsibilities

• Develop physics-based thermal models bridging micro-scale cell to macro-scale rack and container installations.
• Run 3D CFD to optimise air/liquid flow and eliminate hot spots.
• Model abusive cell conditions and simulate pathways to engineer containment boundaries.
• Convert 3D thermal physics into fast 1D networks for real-time BESS control.
• Design test protocols to characterize cell thermal properties and validate boundary conditions.
• Infuse cutting-edge academic methodologies in heat transfer and battery degradation into product development.

Skills

CFD tools (ANSYS, Fluent, Star-CCM+)

GT-SUITE

COMSOL Multiphysics

MATLAB/Simulink

Python

Education

PhD in Battery Materials Engineering or Materials Science

Tools

GT-SUITE

Python

Simulink

Job description

Transport is at the core of modern society. Imagine using your expertise to shape sustainable transport and infrastructure solutions for the future. If you seek to make a difference on a global scale, working with next-gen technologies and the sharpest collaborative teams, then we could be a perfect match.

Position Overview

We are seeking an innovative Battery Thermal Simulation Engineer to join our advanced engineering team. This position is tailored for a current PhD candidate (ongoing) or a recent PhD graduate specialising in electrochemical, thermal, or fluid sciences.

You will work with the high-fidelity thermal design, modelling, and simulation of our next-generation Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS). This role bridges academic research and industrial application. You will scale thermal architectures from core-cell chemistry to multi-megawatt containerised module and rack systems to ensure ultimate safety and efficiency.

Key Responsibilities

• Multi-Scale Modelling: Develop physics-based thermal models bridging micro-scale cell behaviour to macro-scale rack and container installations.
• CFD & FEA Analysis: Run 3D Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to optimise air/liquid flow distribution and eliminate localised hot spots.
• Thermal Runaway Simulation: Model abusive cell conditions and simulate multi-row propagation pathways to engineer robust containment boundaries.
• Model Order Reduction: Convert complex 3D thermal physics into fast-running 1D networks for real-time BESS control algorithms.
• Experimental Correlation: Design test protocols to characterise cell thermal properties and validate simulation boundary conditions.
• Literature Translation: Infuse cutting-edge academic methodologies in heat transfer and battery degradation into commercial product development.

Required Qualifications

• Education: Current PhD Candidate (within 1 year of graduation) or recent PhD graduate in Battery Material Engineering, or Materials Science.
• Research Focus: Dissertational work directly tied to battery thermal management, electrochemical-thermal modelling.
• Software Fluency: Expert-level command of CFD packages like ANSYS, GT Suite, Fluent, Star-CCM+, COMSOL Multiphysics, etc.
• Systems Tools: Experience building 1D lumped-parameter networks in MATLAB/Simulink, GT-SUITE, or Python.
• Technical Depth: Deep comprehension of Li-ion heat generation rates, overpotential kinetic losses, and entropic heating terms.

We value your data privacy and therefore do not accept applications via mail.

Who We Are And What We Believe In

We are committed to shaping the future landscape of efficient, safe, and sustainable transport solutions. Fulfilling our mission creates countless career opportunities for talents across the group’s leading brands and entities.

Applying to this job offers you the opportunity to join Volvo Group. Every day, you will be working with some of the sharpest and most creative brains in our field to be able to leave our society in better shape for the next generation. We are passionate about what we do, and we thrive on teamwork. We are almost 100,000 people united around the world by a culture of care, inclusiveness, and empowerment.

Volvo Energy lives and leads the change in accelerating Volvo Group’s electrification journey and driving circularity for a better tomorrow. We bring together people with who will work in a highly diverse, equal and inclusive global context with an entrepreneurial spirit where everyone is key and directly contributes to achieving our ambitions for wanted position: better for people – better for planet – better for business. Together – from individual success to collective significance!