Senior Simulation Driven Development Engineer - US

Watlow; St. Louis (MO); On-site; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual incentive program

401(k) plan with match

Wellness incentives

Health, dental, vision coverage

Paid holidays and vacation

Job summary

Watlow is seeking a Senior Simulation Driven Development Engineer to lead advanced thermal, mechanical, and multiphysics simulations across global teams. You will drive design optimization, enable rapid product development, and advance digital engineering capabilities.

Responsibilities include coordinating with product research, manufacturing, and testing to accelerate innovation while ensuring reliability and manufacturability of thermal systems and equipment.

Qualifications

• MS in Mechanical Engineering or related field required.
• Minimum 8 years of engineering experience in computational engineering and simulation.
• Strong experience with FEA/CFD and multiphysics simulations.

Responsibilities

• Lead complex thermal, structural, fluid flow, and multiphysics simulation projects.
• Partner with design engineers to evaluate concepts and improve product performance.
• Develop validation plans and correlate simulation results with test data.
• Serve as a subject matter expert and mentor junior engineers.
• Promote simulation best practices and digital engineering initiatives.

Skills

Advanced simulation

Strong math & analytics

Project management

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication skills

Education

MS in Mechanical Engineering

PhD preferred

Tools

ANSYS

Fluent

CFX

COMSOL

STAR-CCM+

Job description

Working at Watlow

Watlow is a global technology and manufacturing leader who provides world class engineering expertise through innovative thermal products and systems, enabling our customers to thrive. We are making a positive impact every day as our solutions enrich the lives of people everywhere. We have been providing breakthrough thermal solutions for over 100 years! Our corporate values guide us uncompromisingly to always do the right thing, continually learn and improve, respect everyone, and lead with service and humility.

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.

Benefits: The Watlow Total Compensation Plan

Benefits

The health, well-being and financial stability of you and your family is a high priority to us. The Watlow Total Rewards Plan includes competitive compensation and a full range of life and career enhancing benefits:

• Annual Incentive Program
• 401(k) plan that includes a company match on your contribution and an annual company contribution that is tied to company performance
• Wellness incentives
• Employee Personal Assistance Program
• Dental, medical, vision and short-term and long-term disability insurance
• Paid holidays, personal time, and vacation
• Parental leave
• Tuition reimbursement

Diversity & Inclusion

We proactively embrace diversity in all its dimensions across our company and cultivate a culture of inclusion and forward thinking that respects and reflects each team member’s individual strengths, views, and experiences. Watlow takes pride in being an inclusive equal opportunity employer and considers for employment qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status.

Please let us know confidentially if you need or require any special accommodations to participate in our recruiting process by emailing us at [e-mail].