Senior Thermal Engineer — Expeditionary AI/HPC Data Centers

Anduril Industries; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 161,000 - 212,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity grants

Comprehensive benefits

Job summary

Anduril Industries in the United States seeks a Senior Thermal Engineer to own the thermal management of expeditionary AI/HPC data centers—air- and liquid-cooled, modular, and transportable for austere environments. You will perform first-principles analysis, CFD/FEA, and prototype validation to ensure reliability as power density scales.

Role requires 5+ years in thermal systems design, CAD proficiency (NX/SolidWorks), and strong collaboration with electrical, mechanical, and facilities teams.

Qualifications

• MS or higher in mechanical engineering, applied physics, or related field focused on heat transfer, fluid dynamics, and HVAC
• 5+ years designing thermal management systems for data centers or comparable mission-critical infrastructure
• Full-spectrum data center thermal experience—air-side and water-side cooling, heat rejection, chilled water plant design, power density management, and liquid cooling
• Steady-state and transient system modeling of thermal management systems, including HVAC and refrigerant simulations
• CAD experience with Siemens NX or SolidWorks

Responsibilities

• Own the thermal design and analysis of deployable data center cooling systems—air-side and water-side cooling, heat rejection, chilled water plant, and liquid cooling from rack and chip level up through the full facility.
• Use first principles to discern the right level of analysis, running hand calcs, spreadsheets, and MATLAB/Python first-order models before detailed design.
• Define cooling architecture and heat-rejection strategy—CRAH/CRAC, air-side economization, chilled water plants, dry coolers, CDUs, rear-door heat exchangers, and direct-to-chip and immersion liquid cooling to keep equipment within limits as power density scales.
• Develop cooling approaches for high-density racks and trade off air, liquid, and hybrid cooling for modular, transportable systems in austere, high-ambient environments.
• Work with electrical, mechanical, and facilities engineers to characterize IT and equipment heat loads across operating and failure modes.
• Weigh cooling architectures against reliability, efficiency (PUE/WUE), and total cost, driving trade studies that balance thermal margin with capital and operating cost.
• Own the thermal FEA/CFD and system models, predict facility performance, and set red/yellow limits for commissioning and operation.
• Lead prototype builds, field testing, commissioning, and operational validation of cooling designs (CAD, sensor and DAQ selection, data post-processing, results).
• Present thermal status at internal and customer reviews with a clear view of timelines and technical status.
• Develop internal tools to improve analysis effectiveness and efficiency.
• Support failure reviews and root-cause analysis with test data and thermal analysis.

Skills

Heat transfer

Fluid dynamics

Thermal management

CAD

Python

MATLAB

Security clearance

Education

MS or higher in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

Siemens NX

SolidWorks

STAR-CCM+

ANSYS

Icepak

FloEFD

Job description

Anduril Industries in the United States seeks a Senior Thermal Engineer to own the thermal management of expeditionary AI/HPC data centers—air- and liquid-cooled, modular, and transportable for austere environments. You will perform first-principles analysis, CFD/FEA, and prototype validation to ensure reliability as power density scales.

Role requires 5+ years in thermal systems design, CAD proficiency (NX/SolidWorks), and strong collaboration with electrical, mechanical, and facilities teams.