Senior Thermal Engineer, Research & Development

5195 EKC Advanced Electronics USA, LLC; Sunnyvale (CA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Qnity’s SVTC in Silicon Valley is seeking a highly skilled Senior Thermal Engineer to join our R&D team. You will become the local SME in thermal engineering and lead a program focused on heat transfer, TIMs, and advanced materials for high‑performance electronics.

You will drive concept-to-commercialization efforts, collaborate with cross-functional teams, mentor junior engineers, and travel as needed to support customer projects. Strong background in thermal design and materials is essential.

Qualifications

• MS degree in mechanical engineering with 2–3 years of relevant experience in thermal materials and management
• Experience with TIMs, gap fillers, phase-change materials, dielectric materials, or thermally conductive composites
• Knowledge of thermal design, testing, reliability, and process development in electronics
• Familiarity with JEDEC, IPC, ASTM standards is preferred
• Willingness to travel up to 20%
• Strong communication and project leadership capabilities

Responsibilities

• Lead applications development projects related to mechanical design and systems for local customers
• Drive customer solutions from concept to commercialization
• Collaborate with other SMEs to rapidly solve customer problems
• Engage with customers to understand needs and opportunities
• Mentor junior engineers and contribute to professional development
• Represent SVTC in industry events and conferences

Skills

Heat transfer

TIMs materials

Thermal design

Thermal modeling

JEDEC/IPC/ASTM knowledge

Ansys/Comsol/SolidWorks

Leadership

Cross-functional teamwork

Education

M.S. in mechanical engineering

Ph.D. in mechanical engineering (preferred)

Tools

Ansys

Comsol

SolidWorks

AutoCAD

Job description

Are you looking to power the next leap in the exciting world of advanced electronics? Do you want to help solve problems that drive success in the rapidly evolving technology and connectivity landscape? Then bring your problem-solving, passion, and creativity to help us power the next leap in electronics. At Qnity, we’re more than a global leader in materials and solutions for advanced electronics and high-tech industries – we’re a tight-knit team that is motivated by new possibilities, and always up for a challenge. All our dedicated teams contribute to making cutting-edge technology possible. We value forward-thinking challengers, boundary-pushers, and diverse perspectives across all our departments, because we know we play a critical role in the world enabling faster progress for all. Learn how you can start or jumpstart your career with us.

Are you looking to power the next leap in the exciting world of advanced electronics? Do you want to help solve problems that drive success in the rapidly evolving technology and connectivity landscape? Then bring your problem-solving, passion, and creativity to help us power the next leap in electronics. At Qnity, we’re more than a global leader in materials and solutions for advanced electronics and high-tech industries – we’re a tight-knit team that is motivated by new possibilities, and always up for a challenge. All our dedicated teams contribute to making cutting-edge technology possible. We value forward-thinking challengers, boundary-pushers, and diverse perspectives across all our departments, because we know we play a critical role in the world enabling faster progress for all. Learn how you can start or jumpstart your career with us.

Are you looking to power the next leap in the exciting world of advanced electronics? Do you want to help solve problems that drive success in the rapidly evolving technology and connectivity landscape? Then bring your problem-solving, passion, and creativity to help us power the next leap in electronics. At Qnity, we’re more than a global leader in materials and solutions for advanced electronics and high-tech industries – we’re a tight-knit team that is motivated by new possibilities, and always up for a challenge. All our dedicated teams contribute to making cutting-edge technology possible. We value forward‑thinking challengers, boundary‑pushers, and diverse perspectives across all our departments, because we know we play a critical role in the world enabling faster progress for all. Learn how you can start or jumpstart your career with us.

Qnity’s Silicon Valley Technology Center The Qnity Silicon Valley Technology Center (SVTC) is a place where customers find end‑to‑end support solving their most critical and complicated electronic materials challenges. SVTC is Qnity’s premier applications development & engineering center of excellence located in the heart of Silicon Valley, with more than 10,000 square feet of state‑of‑the‑art application laboratories spanning rapid prototyping, reliability testing, process development, and advanced analytical characterization, the team of engineers working at SVTC has all the resources they need to help customers solve their problems. As a leverage research & development organization, engineers at SVTC get to work with all of Qnity’s vast materials portfolio, with a local market focus in emerging domains such as consumer electronics, humanoid robotics, aerospace & defense, next gen automotive, and semiconductor industries.

Senior Thermal Engineer in Research & Development

Qnity’s SVTC is seeking a highly skilled Senior Thermal Engineer to join our leveraged R&D organization, where we do customer‑facing applications engineering work focused on enabling the next generation of technology for local Silicon Valley OEMs. The Senior Thermal Engineer is expected to become the local Subject Matter Expert (SME) in thermal engineering and will join a highly skilled team of other local SMEs covering additional areas such as metrology, optics, mechanical, and electrical engineering. Together, the SME team works closely with additional local engineering support in the laboratories with the shared common goal of working closely with Silicon Valley customers and delivering solutions to their materials challenges. The successful candidate will provide technical leadership in planning and executing a comprehensive research and development program, including scale‑up, focused on thermal materials engineering, heat transfer, and mechanical design for advanced electronics and semiconductor applications. This work will be driven by both internal and external customer needs, particularly in high‑performance and electronic systems. Working collaboratively within cross‑functional project teams, the candidate will contribute to the development of next‑generation thermal management solutions, including thermal interface materials (TIMs), heat spreaders, encapsulants, and advanced composite systems aligned with key business objectives. A core responsibility of this role is to identify and create commercial value in thermally functional materials and systems by leveraging deep expertise in heat transfer, thermal conductivity enhancement, and structure–property–performance relationships in engineered materials.

Primary Responsibilities

• Lead applications development projects related to mechanical design and mechanical systems for local customers
• Drive customer solutions from concept to commercialization
• Work closely with other SMEs at SVTC to form a close‑knit engineering team capable of rapidly solving any customer problem
• Respond rapidly and with high motivation to customer needs and opportunities as they arise; be comfortable with changing priorities as customer needs evolve
• Engage with Silicon Valley customers to understand their needs and proactively support their next generation of technology
• Connect the broader Qnity R&D organization to local Silicon Valley opportunities; be a regional leader in mechanical and thermal engineering expertise
• Represent Qnity SVTC in industry consortium and at conferences
• Deliver technical training and seminars to internal teams and external partners as necessary
• Mentor junior engineers and contribute to their technical and professional development

Required Qualifications

• M.S. degree in mechanical engineering or closely related field, with 2-3 years of directly applicable engineering work experience with thermal materials and thermal management technologies
• Demonstrated expertise in thermal interface materials (TIMs), gap fillers, phase‑change materials, dielectric materials, or thermally conductive composites for electronics applications
• Experience with semiconductor packaging, power electronics cooling, or high‑performance computing thermal challenges is highly desirable
• Demonstrated expertise in thermal design, characterization, reliability testing, and process development working with thermal materials such as but not limited to TIM1,1.5, and 2 materials
• Knowledge of structure–property relationships in thermally conductive materials, including particle‑filled systems, hybrid materials, and anisotropic heat conduction designs
• Strong fundamentals in heat transfer, phase change materials, thermal modeling, and thermal characterization techniques
• Proficiency with some specific and standard thermal and thermomechanical design and modeling software packages such as Anysis, Comsol, SolidWorks, AutoCAD, etc.
• Proficiency with specific thermal characterization tools and methods such as LFA, DSC, TGA, IR thermotherapy, TIM testers, Phase 12, hot disk, etc.
• Strong technical curiously, able to learn quickly, and very comfortable working outside core areas of expertise and with cross‑functional teams
• Strong analytical, communication, and interpersonal skills
• Track record of successful customer engagement and project leadership
• Familiar with project management best practices such as Agile, Stage Gate, etc.
• Experience working with national and international testing standards such as JEDEC, IPC and ASTM, etc.
• Able and willing to travel as required to support customer projects (up to 20%)

Preferred Qualifications

• Ph.D. in mechanical engineering or closely related field, with 3+ years of directly applicable engineering work experience
• Experience working with or for local Silicon Valley companies in the thermal component of relevant industries such as consumer electronics, aerospace & defense, automotive, robotics, telecommunications, data center
• Strong desire to translate research into commercial thermal solutions, with a results‑oriented mindset.
• Excellent project management, planning, prioritization, and leadership skills.
• Strong interpersonal, communication, and presentation skills, with the ability to engage both technical and non‑technical stakeholders
• Active in national, regional, and/or local chapters of professional societies and conferences, such as ASME, SEMI‑THERM, etc.
• Patent and publication history in relevant technical domains
• Award‑winning contributions to R&D organizations #LI-LA1 #On‑site

Qnity offers a comprehensive pay and benefits package.

Qnity is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified applicants will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, national origin, age, veteran status, disability or any other protected class. If you need a reasonable accommodation to search or apply for a position, please visit our Accessibility Page for Contact Information.

To learn more visit the Compensation and Benefits page.

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Qnity is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified applicants will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, national origin, age, veteran status, disability or any other protected class. If you need a reasonable accommodation to search or apply for a position, please visit our