Senior Thermal R&D Engineer: Pioneering Cooling Architect

Johnson Controls, Inc.; Burlington (MA); On-site; USD 130,000 - 165,000; Full time

Job summary

Johnson Controls in Burlington, MA is looking for a Principal Thermal R&D Engineer to lead research and development of next‑generation cooling technologies. You will own the technical direction of programs, identify promising concepts, build and test prototypes, and mature them toward commercialization to push thermal limits in demanding systems.

The ideal candidate has a PhD with 8+ years of experience (or MS/BS with 12+ years) in thermal management, deep heat transfer and fluid mechanics, and

Qualifications

• PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Thermal-Fluid Sciences, or related field (with 8+ years) or MS/BS with 12+ years in thermal management R&D.
• Deep expertise in heat transfer and fluid mechanics, including single-phase and two-phase/refrigerant-based systems.
• Proficiency with CFD/thermal-fluid simulation tools (SimCenter, ANSYS Fluent, COMSOL) and ability to validate models against experiments.
• Hands-on experience designing, building, and operating thermal test rigs and instrumentation.
• Experience defining and leading research projects, including scoping, budgeting, and presenting results to senior leadership.
• US Citizenship or Permanent Resident status required.

Responsibilities

• Partner with Solutions team to identify customer thermal requirements and shape the technology roadmap.
• Scope and propose research projects with clear hypotheses, timelines, and resource needs; secure leadership alignment.
• Conceive novel thermal device architectures leveraging Stack Forging internal geometries for performance gains.
• Collaborate with simulation team to perform CFD and thermal-fluid analyses to screen concepts and guide design.
• Advance two-phase and refrigerant-based cooling knowledge, including boiling, condensation, flow stability, and fluid selection.
• Design and build test rigs, define protocols, run experiments, and analyze data to validate performance and quantify uncertainty.
• Act as technical authority on thermal performance; mentor engineers and uphold analytical rigor.

Skills

Heat transfer & fluid mechanics

CFD tools

Thermal test rigs

Research leadership

US Citizenship/PR

Education

PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Thermal-Fluid Sciences, or related field

MS/BS with 12+ years in thermal management R&D

Tools

Siemens SimCenter

ANSYS Fluent

COMSOL

Job description

Johnson Controls in Burlington, MA is looking for a Principal Thermal R&D Engineer to lead research and development of next‑generation cooling technologies. You will own the technical direction of programs, identify promising concepts, build and test prototypes, and mature them toward commercialization to push thermal limits in demanding systems.

The ideal candidate has a PhD with 8+ years of experience (or MS/BS with 12+ years) in thermal management, deep heat transfer and fluid mechanics, and