Director, Mechanical Engineering

Oracle; Santa Clara (CA); On-site; USD 170,000 - 355,000; Full time

Job summary

Oracle in Santa Clara seeks a senior mechanical/thermal engineering leader to direct design and delivery of high‑performance compute hardware. You will own mechanical, thermal, and human factors work from concept through qualification and production ramp, ensuring reliability, serviceability, and cost targets.

You will mentor managers, set standards, and resolve cross‑functional tradeoffs with electrical, software, and supplier teams while shaping next‑generation roadmaps for GPUs, servers, and

Qualifications

• BS in Mechanical Engineering (or equivalent); MS preferred.
• 12+ years in mechanical, thermal, or platform engineering for complex hardware.
• 5+ years of people leadership, including managing managers.
• Experience with industry-standard CAD, CFD, and PLM tools.

Responsibilities

• Own mechanical and thermal delivery from concept through qualification and production ramp.
• Lead mechanical, thermal, industrial design, and human factors specialists through clear standards and delegated ownership.
• Resolve cross-program tradeoffs with electrical, SI/PI, power, firmware/software, quality, program, datacenter, and OEM/ODM partners.
• Set lifecycle sign-off criteria and escalation paths for performance, cost, schedule, reliability, serviceability, and supply risk.
• Align interfaces and design margins with engineering and operations; drive next-generation roadmaps.

Skills

Mechanical engineering

Leadership

CAD

CFD

Reliability testing

Education

BS in Mechanical Engineering

MS preferred

Tools

CAD tools

CFD

PLM

Job description

Job Description

Determines the direction for the design and development of mechanical systems including components, enclosures, and packaging, implementing reliability, performance, and manufacturability standards. Leverages expertise in advanced computer aided design (CAD) tools to guide the development of 3D models, facilitating collaborations with cross-functional teams to refine solutions. Reviews the results of mechanical strength and reliability testing of materials and components, working directly with operations and suppliers to plan for prototype-to-product transitions. Sets expectations for and oversees testing and reliability assessments, oversees and advises on the resolution of defects, and fosters a culture of continuous innovation and product improvement. Establishes the long-term strategy for the mechanical engineering portion of projects, ensuring alignment with project timelines, quality standards, and design goals.

Job Description

Determines the direction for the design and development of mechanical systems including components, enclosures, and packaging, implementing reliability, performance, and manufacturability standards. Leverages expertise in advanced computer aided design (CAD) tools to guide the development of 3D models, facilitating collaborations with cross-functional teams to refine solutions. Reviews the results of mechanical strength and reliability testing of materials and components, working directly with operations and suppliers to plan for prototype-to-product transitions. Sets expectations for and oversees testing and reliability assessments, oversees and advises on the resolution of defects, and fosters a culture of continuous innovation and product improvement. Own mechanical and thermal delivery from concept through qualification and production ramp, accountable for performance, reliability, serviceability, and cost. Lead mechanical, thermal, industrial design, and human factors specialists through clear standards and delegated ownership. Resolve cross-program tradeoffs with electrical, SI/PI, power, firmware/software, quality, program, datacenter, and fleet/service teams and technology/OEM/ODM partners; shape next-generation roadmaps while meeting current commitments.

Responsibilities

Job Summary

Build and lead the mechanical and thermal engineering organization within OHD. Develop managers and technical leaders, set organization structure, and allocate capacity and investment across the portfolio. Own mechanical and thermal delivery from concept through qualification and production ramp, accountable for performance, reliability, serviceability, and cost. Lead mechanical, thermal, industrial design, and human factors specialists through clear standards and delegated ownership. Resolve cross-program tradeoffs with electrical, SI/PI, power, firmware/software, quality, program, datacenter, and fleet/service teams and technology/OEM/ODM partners; shape next-generation roadmaps while meeting current commitments.

Key Responsibilities

• Own mechanical and thermal architecture and execution for GPU/accelerator platforms, servers, storage enclosures, QSFP/OSFP optics modules, and rack-level solutions.
• Set standards for structural integrity, shock/vibration, materials, tolerances, DFM/DFA, access, acoustics, serviceability, and safety/ESD/EMC; resolve architectural tradeoffs.
• Meet reliability and risk targets through FMEA (Failure Modes and Effects Analysis) and applicable system/component MTTF (Mean Time to Failure) requirements.
• Own thermal targets and analysis methods for liquid and air cooling, including CFD, characterization, airflow, heatsinks/cold plates, optics cooling, pressure drop, and design margins.
• Direct industrial design and human factors work to meet usability, serviceability, and compliance requirements.

Portfolio Execution and Design Governance

• Set review standards and owners through concept, architecture, requirements, EVT/DVT/PVT, qualification, production readiness, and sustaining. Resolve dependencies across programs.
• Set environmental, reliability, acoustic, thermal, usability, and serviceability validation expectations; require complete evidence and verified issue closure.
• Present commitments, capacity, cost, risks, and recommended decisions to executives; elevate material gaps with recovery plans.
• Set lifecycle sign-off criteria, delegated authority, and escalation paths for performance, cost, schedule, reliability, serviceability, and supply risk.
• Align interfaces, constraints, design margins, and qualification with engineering and operations; work with safety and EMC teams on compliance and certification.

Supplier and Manufacturing Leadership

• Set supplier and OEM/ODM requirements for interfaces, manufacturability, and lifecycle support. With sourcing and operations, resolve cost, quality, and lead-time tradeoffs; use scorecards to track delivery, responsiveness, and corrective-action closure.
• Resolve component and cooling decisions with material architectural, reliability, cost, or supply implications; set approval standards and delegate routine decisions to qualified leaders.
• Lead mechanical and thermal readiness for manufacturing with Supply Chain and Operations, including production ramp, yield improvement, and sustaining.
• Oversee mechanical/thermal labs and machine-shop operations. Assign safety and throughput owners, assess capability gaps, and prioritize equipment investments against portfolio needs.

People Leadership and Organizational Scaling

• Hire, coach, and manage engineering managers and technical leaders. Define responsibilities, develop successors, and address leadership gaps before they constrain delivery.
• Maintain capacity and skills plans across concurrent programs; set resource allocations and hiring and investment priorities. Hold leaders accountable for quality and delivery.

Required Qualifications

• BS in Mechanical Engineering (or equivalent); MS preferred.
• 12+ years in mechanical, thermal, or platform engineering, including delivery of complex compute, server, storage, or networking hardware.
• 5+ years of people leadership, including managing managers.
• Record of shipping multiple high-volume platforms through EVT/DVT/PVT, qualification, and ramp, with responsibility for gate reviews and executive readiness.
• Technical depth and judgment to set standards, assess architecture decisions, and lead specialists across both disciplines:
  • Mechanical architecture: materials, tolerance/stack-up, DFM/DFA, structural integrity, shock, and vibration, acoustics, reliability.
  • Thermal architecture (liquid and air cooling): CFD-to-lab correlation and margining.
• OEM/ODM and supplier leadership covering requirements, interfaces, cost/quality/lead-time tradeoffs, and escalations.
• Portfolio management through capacity planning, metrics, risk reviews, design governance, and cross-functional decisions.
• Experience with industry-standard CAD, CFD, and PLM tools, including mechanical design workflows, thermal analysis, and configuration control.
• Executive communication that makes commitments, tradeoffs, risks, and recommended decisions clear.

Qualifications

Disclaimer:

Certain U.S. based or U.S. customer or client-facing roles may be required to comply with applicable requirements, such as immunization/occupational health mandates, and/or drug testing requirements.

Range and benefit information provided in this posting are specific to the stated locations only

US: Hiring Range in USD from: $169,800 - $355,400 per year. May be eligible for bonus, equity, and compensation deferral.

Oracle maintains broad salary ranges for its roles in order to account for variations in knowledge, skills, experience, market conditions and locations, as well as reflect Oracle's differing products, industries and lines of business.

Candidates are typically placed into the range based on the preceding factors as well as internal peer equity.

Oracle US offers a comprehensive benefits package which includes the following:

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance, including expert medical opinion
• Short term disability and long term disability
• Life insurance and AD&D
• Supplemental life insurance (Employee/Spouse/Child)
• Health care and dependent care Flexible Spending Accounts
• Pre-tax commuter and parking benefits
• 401(k) Savings and Investment Plan with company match
• Paid time off: Flexible Vacation is provided to all eligible employees assigned to a salaried (non-overtime eligible) position. Accrued Vacation is provided to all other employees eligible for vacation benefits. For employees working at least 35 hours per week, the vacation accrual rate is 13 days annually for the first three years of employment and 18 days annually for subsequent years of employment. Vacation accrual is prorated for employees working between 20 and 34 hours per week. Employees working fewer than 20 hours per week are not eligible for vacation.
• 11 paid holidays
• Paid sick leave: 72 hours of paid sick leave upon date of hire. Refreshes each calendar year. Unused balance will carry over each year up to a maximum cap of 112 hours.
• Paid parental leave
• Adoption assistance
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan
• Financial planning and group legal
• Voluntary benefits including auto, homeowner and pet insurance

The role will generally accept applications for at least three calendar days from the posting date or as long as the job remains posted.

As part of Oracle's onboarding process and consistent with applicable law, US-based employees are required to complete identity verification, which involves the collection and processing of their biometric information. Accommodations to this requirement may be granted following an individualized assessment.

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