Senior Thermal CFD Engineer — Exhaust & Underbody Innovation

PACCAR Inc; Mount Vernon (WA); On-site; USD 104,100 - 162,900; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary and 401k match

Full medical, dental, and vision plans

Pension plan with monthly benefits

Paid time off and holidays

Tuition reimbursement

Job summary

PACCAR is seeking a Senior/Lead Thermal CFD Simulation Engineer to advance thermal management for exhaust and underbody systems. You will drive design viability through simulation-to-test correlation and translate results into actionable recommendations.

You'll partner with Kenworth and Peterbilt engineering teams, develop methodologies, and create engineering guidelines while supporting concept studies and DFMEA inputs. Strong communication and teamwork are essential in this role.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of engineering experience in thermal/CFD environments.
• 5+ years of CFD & Thermal Analysis experience.
• Experience in automotive, aerospace, electronics cooling, HVAC, or related fields.
• Strong understanding of heat transfer, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and numerical methods.
• Expertise in CFD modeling: meshing, solver setup, boundary conditions, post-processing.
• Proficiency with STAR-CCM+, Fluent, TAITherm; CAD tools listed above.
• Excellent problem solving, analytical and reporting skills; good communication.

Responsibilities

• Perform 3D thermal and CFD analysis for exhaust and aftertreatment systems.
• Predict heat loss, pressure drop, underhood temperatures across load cases.
• Evaluate DEF system thermal behavior and related CFD needs.
• Develop and apply simulation methodologies for underhood/underbody analyses.
• Correlate simulations with test data and build reusable knowledge base.
• Support concept studies, DFMEA inputs, and trade studies.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with packaging, reliability, validation, and manufacturing teams.

Skills

CFD modeling

STAR-CCM+

Fluent CFD

TAITherm

Creo

SolidWorks

CATIA

Heat transfer

Thermodynamics

Problem-solving

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related field

MS or PhD preferred

Tools

Creo

SolidWorks

CATIA

Job description

PACCAR is seeking a Senior/Lead Thermal CFD Simulation Engineer to advance thermal management for exhaust and underbody systems. You will drive design viability through simulation-to-test correlation and translate results into actionable recommendations.

You'll partner with Kenworth and Peterbilt engineering teams, develop methodologies, and create engineering guidelines while supporting concept studies and DFMEA inputs. Strong communication and teamwork are essential in this role.