Senior Thermal Engineer

Stealth Startup; Lombardia; On-site; EUR 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Stealth Startup in Milan, Italy, seeks a Senior Thermal Engineer to own the thermal and environmental control systems across our product family. You will drive architecture, design, and testing from concept through production readiness, collaborating with mechanical and electrical teams to optimize for efficiency and reliability.

In this high-ownership role, you will perform heat load modeling, CFD analyses, and direct integration with cooling subsystems.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical or Thermal Engineering with emphasis on thermal and fluids.
• 5+ years of thermal system design experience including high-heat-density applications.
• First-principles heat transfer, fluid dynamics and thermodynamics are demonstrated.
• Experience with active cooling and heat rejection systems.
• Experience with CFD tools (Ansys Fluent, STAR-CCM+).
• Ability to work in fast-paced, early-stage environment with ownership.
• Proficient in English (C1/C2).

Responsibilities

• Own thermal system design from architecture to production readiness.
• Develop thermal architectures for Pod, Module and Shell.
• Perform CFD simulations to validate designs.
• Collaborate with mechanical and electrical teams.
• Define testing and commissioning procedures.
• Manage vendor interfaces for cooling components.
• Document design and maintain revision control.

Skills

Heat transfer

Fluid mechanics

Thermal engineering

CFD tools

Ambient conditions design

Ownership/autonomy

English (C1/C2)

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

Ansys Fluent

STAR-CCM+

Job description

About Us

We are an early-stage technology company operating at the intersection of Energy and AI infrastructure, focused on developing a new generation of efficient and scalable computing infrastructure.

Our approach combines distributed computing, modular infrastructure and energy efficiency to support the rapidly growing demand for AI and high-performance computing.

The company is developing a new model for deploying compute capacity in a flexible and scalable way, with a strong focus on efficiency, sustainability, reliability and responsible infrastructure development.

This is an opportunity to join a growing team at an early stage and contribute directly to the development of a new infrastructure platform, working at the intersection of power, data centers and advanced computing.

Position Type

Part of the Engineering team, reporting to the Head of Hardware Engineering

Role Overview

We are seeking a Senior Thermal Engineer to join la nostra azienda and take full ownership of the thermal and environmental control systems across our product family. You will drive thermal technology selection, architecture, and detailed design for the Pod, Module, and Shell products. As owner of the product family, you will also seek opportunities for cross-product optimization and standardization. This is a deeply technical role where you will own designs end-to-end, from initial modeling through prototype build, testing, validation and production readiness, working across a wide range of ambient conditions and heat rejection challenges. You will collaborate closely with the mechanical and electrical engineering teams and be a key technical voice in shaping how our infrastructure manages energy and heat.

What You Will Deliver

This is a high-impact, high-ownership role. You will be instrumental in taking our products to market and the thermal architectures you define will be visible in every product we ship.

In your first year: You will own and deliver the thermal system design of our Power & Compute Pod from architecture to production-ready product. In parallel you will develop thermal architecture concepts and designs for our larger systems, the Module and Shell, establishing the thermal and environmental control foundation across the full product family.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the thermal and environmental control system design of PCC's Power & Compute Pod end-to-end: technology selection, system architecture, detailed design, and testing and validation
• Develop thermal architectures from first principles, including heat load modeling, psychrometric analysis, cooling system sizing, and heat rejection strategies across a wide ambient range
• Understand, scout, and determine feasibility of novel direct chip cooling technologies
• Design active cooling, heat rejection, and environmental conditioning systems—going beyond component selection to engineer systems that meet performance, efficiency (PUE), and reliability targets
• Perform thermal analysis and CFD simulations to validate designs, identify risks, and optimize performance prior to build
• Specify and work with suppliers to integrate cooling components and subsystems, including heat exchangers, CDUs, and HVAC equipment
• Define and drive thermal testing and commissioning procedures from first prototype through production release
• Collaborate with mechanical and electrical engineers to integrate thermal systems within physical space constraints
• Maintain thermal design documentation, analysis records, and revision control in line with engineering standards

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Thermal Engineering, or equivalent field with a strong thermal and fluids focus
• 5+ years of thermal system design experience, with systems delivered to prototype or production
• Demonstrated first-principles capability in heat transfer, fluid mechanics, and thermodynamics—able to develop novel thermal solutions, not only select catalogue products
• Experience designing active cooling and heat rejection systems for high-heat-density applications
• Proficiency in thermal simulation or CFD tools (such as Ansys Fluent, STAR-CCM+, or equivalent)
• Experience designing systems for wide-range ambient operating conditions and harsh outdoor environments
• Knowledge of psychrometrics and environmental conditioning design
• Familiarity with high-density electronics or data center thermal management
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, early-stage environment with a high degree of ownership and autonomy
• English Speaking C1/C2

Nice to Have

• EExperience with liquid cooling systems, including coolant distribution units (CDUs), direct liquid cooling, or immersion cooling
• Background in edge computing, modular data centers, or outdoor-deployed infrastructure
• Experience with thermal testing and instrumentation (thermocouples, data loggers, calorimetry)
• Familiarity with ASHRAE TC 9.9 or EN 50600 thermal guidelines for data center infrastructure
• Experience with refrigeration systems or heat pump technology
• Prior experience at a hardware startup or scale-up where ownership and pace require broad technical scope

Location

Milan, Italy. On-site.