Hands-On Thermal-Mechanical R&D Engineer (Semiconductors)

Advantest; Lake Forest (CA); On-site; USD 122,000 - 188,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Global bonus program

401(k) plan

Medical, dental & vision

Income protection

FSAs

Employee assistance program

Flexible time off

Paid holidays

Job summary

Advantest America Inc. in Lake Forest, CA, seeks a Thermal-Mechanical R&D Engineer to join the Global Thermal R&D Team developing and integrating advanced thermal technologies for semiconductor test applications.

The ideal candidate moves from problem definition and first-principles analysis through modeling, experimentation, prototype development, and technical recommendations with limited day-to-day direction, applying heat transfer, thermodynamics, and fluid mechanics.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Thermal Engineering, or a closely related technical field. Master’s degree preferred.
• Strong engineering fundamentals in heat transfer, thermodynamics, and fluid mechanics.
• Demonstrated experience applying engineering fundamentals, analytical methods, modeling, or experimentation to solve thermal engineering problems.
• Hands-on engineering experience developing prototypes, experiments, thermal test setups, laboratory hardware, or similar systems.
• Demonstrated ability to structure and solve complex or open-ended technical problems where the solution or path forward may not initially be well defined.
• Ability to independently drive day-to-day technical activities with limited supervision, while proactively seeking alignment, expertise, and support when needed.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and technical communication skills.
• Ability to collaborate effectively across engineering disciplines and within a globally distributed R&D organization.

Responsibilities

• Develop and evaluate advanced thermal solutions for high-power semiconductor test applications.
• Investigate emerging thermal-management technologies and assess their applicability to current and future semiconductor test requirements.
• Contribute to the development of future thermal technologies and longer-term technical roadmaps.
• Independently structure and drive technical investigations from initial problem definition through analysis, experimentation, and recommendation.
• Apply fundamentals of heat transfer, thermodynamics, and fluid mechanics, together with modeling, simulation, experimentation, and engineering judgment, to solve complex thermal problems and evaluate design trade-offs.
• Develop analytical and simulation models to understand thermal behavior, predict performance, and guide engineering decisions.
• Design and execute experiments to characterize thermal components, interfaces, cooling technologies, and system-level performance.
• Design, build, instrument, and troubleshoot prototype hardware and thermal test setups.
• Analyze experimental and simulation results, correlate models with hardware performance, and use findings to improve designs and technical solutions.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary engineering teams to integrate thermal technologies into semiconductor test systems and product architectures.
• Work with internal teams, customers, suppliers, universities, and external technology partners to evaluate technologies and solve technical challenges.
• Clearly communicate technical findings, design trade-offs, risks, and recommendations to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Skills

Heat transfer

Thermodynamics

Fluid mechanics

Modeling

Experimentation

Prototype development

Technical communication

Analytical thinking

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree preferred

Tools

ANSYS

FloEFD

Icepak

MATLAB

Python

Job description

Advantest America Inc. in Lake Forest, CA, seeks a Thermal-Mechanical R&D Engineer to join the Global Thermal R&D Team developing and integrating advanced thermal technologies for semiconductor test applications.

The ideal candidate moves from problem definition and first-principles analysis through modeling, experimentation, prototype development, and technical recommendations with limited day-to-day direction, applying heat transfer, thermodynamics, and fluid mechanics.