Senior Simulation Driven Development Engineer - US

Watlow Electric Manufacturing Company; St. Louis (MO); On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Watlow Electric Manufacturing Company in the St. Louis area seeks a Senior Simulation Driven Development Engineer to lead advanced simulation and digital engineering efforts across product development and technology innovation.

You will apply FEA/CFD, thermal-fluid analysis, and multiphysics modeling to accelerate innovation, improve reliability, and support cross-functional teams.

Qualifications

• MS degree in Mechanical, Aerospace, Chemical, Materials or related field.
• 8+ years of engineering experience in computational engineering and simulation.
• Strong background in heat transfer, fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, and engineering mechanics.
• Experience with FEA/CFD software such as ANSYS Mechanical, Fluent/CFX, COMSOL, STAR-CCM+.

Responsibilities

• Lead complex thermal, structural, fluid flow, and multiphysics simulation projects.
• Develop and validate FEA and CFD models for thermal systems and related technologies.
• Conduct steady-state and transient analyses, thermal stress evaluations, modal analyses, and flow simulations.
• Support design optimization through simulation-driven engineering approaches.
• Mentor junior engineers and lead cross-functional technical reviews.

Skills

Analytical skills

Problem solving

Communication skills

Project management

Team collaboration

Education

MS in Mechanical/Aerospace/Chemical/Materials Eng

Tools

ANSYS Mechanical

Fluent/CFX

COMSOL

STAR-CCM+

Python

MATLAB

Job description

Senior Simulation Driven Development Engineer

Position Summary

We are seeking a highly motivated Computational Engineering Engineer to join our Global Computational Engineering Team. This role will lead advanced simulation and digital engineering efforts supporting product development, process improvement, and technology innovation across multiple business units.

The successful candidate will apply Finite Element Analysis (FEA), Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), thermal-fluid sciences, and engineering analytics to solve complex engineering challenges. This individual will collaborate closely with product research and development, manufacturing, testing, and technology teams to accelerate innovation and improve product performance, reliability, and manufacturability.

Key Responsibilities

Advanced Engineering Simulation

• Lead complex thermal, structural, fluid flow, and multiphysics simulation projects.
• Develop and validate FEA and CFD models for thermal systems, industrial thermal equipment, semiconductor processing applications, and related technologies.
• Conduct steady-state and transient thermal analyses, thermal stress evaluations, modal analyses, and flow simulations.
• Support design optimization through simulation-driven engineering approaches.

Product Development Support

• Partner with design engineers to evaluate concepts, identify risks, and improve product performance early in the development process.
• Provide simulation-based recommendations for design improvements and product standardization initiatives.
• Support root cause investigations and failure analysis efforts.

Validation and Correlation

• Develop validation plans and correlate simulation results with laboratory and field test data.
• Quantify uncertainty and establish best practices for model verification and validation.
• Improve simulation methodologies and modeling standards.

Technical Leadership

• Serve as a subject matter expert in computational engineering and simulation technologies.
• Mentor junior engineers and provide technical guidance across the organization.
• Lead cross-functional technical reviews and communicate complex simulation results to diverse audiences.
• Promote simulation best practices in Watlow engineering community.

Digital Engineering and Innovation

• Support development of digital engineering capabilities, including digital twins, engineering analytics, AI/ML applications, and automation tools.
• Identify opportunities to improve engineering efficiency through advanced modeling and data-driven approaches.
• Contribute to long-term computational engineering strategy and technology roadmaps.

Required Qualifications

• M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Materials Engineering, or related discipline.
• Minimum 8 years of engineering experience with significant experience in computational engineering and simulation.
• Strong expertise in heat transfer, fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, and engineering mechanics.
• Demonstrated experience with FEA and CFD software such as ANSYS Mechanical, Fluent, CFX, COMSOL, STAR-CCM+, or equivalent.
• Experience performing thermal and structural analyses for complex engineering systems.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and collaborate effectively across global teams.
• Experience on FEA structural analysis.

Preferred Qualifications

• Ph.D. in a relevant engineering discipline.
• Experience with industrial heating systems, semiconductor equipment, process equipment, or thermal management applications.
• Experience with multiphysics simulations involving thermal, structural, electrical, and fluid interactions.
• Knowledge of Python, MATLAB, data analytics, machine learning, or automation tools.
• Experience with design optimization, DOE, surrogate modeling, or reduced-order modeling techniques.
• Experience supporting global engineering organizations and customer-facing technical projects.