Sr. Mechanical Engineer - Thermal

Molex; Lisle (IL); On-site; USD 100,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision

Flexible spending and HSA

Life insurance

Disability coverage

401(k) retirement

Paid vacation/time off

Educational assistance

Infertility assistance

Paid parental leave

Adoption assistance

Job summary

Molex is seeking a Thermal/CFD engineer to lead design, validation, and manufacturing development of BoundaryCool thermal solutions for CAEPlus phase. You will own cold plate design, validate with CFD and experiments, and drive the full product lifecycle from concept to prototype testing.

You will collaborate with CAEPlus founders and cross-functional teams, applying expertise in thermal hardware, fluids, and materials to bring a breakthrough active cooling platform to market.

Qualifications

• BS in Mechanical Engineering, Thermal Sciences, or Aerospace Engineering.
• 3+ years of thermal engineering and CFD simulation experience.
• Experience with liquid cooling system design and analysis.

Responsibilities

• Lead design and validation of boundary coolers and active cooling.
• Develop CFD simulations and validate with experimental data.
• Design and run flow loop tests and characterize thermal performance.
• Collaborate with CAD and mechanical engineers on channel geometry.
• Prepare documentation and testing protocols for qualification.

Skills

Thermal engineering

CFD simulation

ANSYS Fluent

Liquid cooling

3D CAD

Instrumentation & data acquisition

Thermal test rigs

Education

Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering

MS/PhD welcome

Tools

ANSYS Fluent

ANSYS Icepak

Simcenter FloTherm

COMSOL

CAD software

Job description

Your Job

As part of Molex's strategic investment in CAEPlus and the ongoing development of next-generation AI data center thermal management solutions, this position will operate in a unique collaboration model between the two organizations. While employed by Molex and receiving all Molex employment benefits, the successful candidate will work closely with the CAEPlus team and focus primarily on advancing CAEPlus technologies, products, and innovation initiatives. This role offers the entrepreneurial environment of a growing technology venture combined with the resources, stability, and engineering expertise of a global industry leader.

This role leads the mechanical design, product validation, and manufacturing development of BoundaryCool thermal management solutions for the CAEPlus Phase I program. The engineer will own the detailed design of cold plates, active module integration geometry, and manufacturing drawings - driving the full product development lifecycle from concept through prototype validation. Working directly with the CAEPlus founder and cross-functional program team, this individual will apply expertise across precision machining, materials, and thermal hardware design to bring a breakthrough active cooling platform to market.

What You Will Do

• Design and apply advanced fluid dynamic concepts into the active thermal management system to enhance convective heat transfer performance of cold plates and related thermal solutions
• Develop and validate CFD simulations of the active thermal management system, including turbulence modeling, Conjugate Heat Transfer (CHT) analysis, heat transfer coefficient improvement, and flow distribution characterization
• Design and execute single and multi-cold plate flow loop test protocols - measuring thermal resistance (Rth K/W), flow impedance, and pressure drop (P) across target flow rate range, consistent with Open Compute Project (OCP) standards
• Design server chassis-level and rack-level test rig configurations for NVIDIA NVL-class GPU load simulation
• Set up and operate flow loop test rig (coolant loop assembly, instrumentation, leakage detection, and data acquisition system)
• Install and calibrate thermal instrumentation including thermocouples, pressure transducers, flow meters, and power measurement equipment
• Correlate CFD simulation results with experimental thermal test data and iterate on the active cooling system to improve performance
• Collaborate with Mechanical Engineers and CAD Designers on cold plate channel geometry and active cooling system design
• Develop thermal test protocols, acceptance criteria, data acquisition procedures, and documentation of best practices for simulation and testing
• Generate performance data package documenting Rth, T, P, and flow uniformity for customer qualification
• Specify fluid fitting requirements and standards, including Universal Quick Disconnects (UQD), G1/4" BSPP, NPT and equivalent connector specifications for inlet and outlet interfaces
• Discover and invent new techniques and methods in thermal simulation, design, and testing
• Support technical paper authorship and patent filing in thermal management and active cooling

Who You Are (Basic Qualifications)

• BS in Mechanical Engineering, Thermal Sciences, or Aerospace Engineering
• 3+ years of thermal engineering and CFD simulation experience
• Proficiency in ANSYS Fluent, ANSYS Icepak, Simcenter FloTherm, COMSOL, or equivalent thermal simulation tools
• Experience with liquid cooling system design and analysis - single-phase and two-phase
• Experience setting up and operating thermal test rigs, instrumentation, and data acquisition systems
• Strong foundation in heat transfer (conduction, forced convection, radiation, and two-phase heat transfer)
• Experience with 3D CAD tools for simulation geometry preparation and model validation

What Will Put You Ahead

• MS or PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Thermal Sciences, or Aerospace Engineering
• Experience with direct liquid cooling (DLC) or direct-to-chip (D2C) cold plate systems
• Experience with ANSYS Fluent UDFs or Python scripting for simulation automation
• Familiarity with Coolant Distribution Unit (CDU) systems and chiller systems used in hyperscale data center environments
• Familiarity with Open Compute Project (OCP) liquid cooling standard protocols
• Familiarity with NVL-class or HGX-class GPU thermal specifications and test methodologies
• Familiarity with two-phase cooling systems and simulation methodologies
• Prior experience publishing technical papers or filing patents in thermal management or active cooling

For this role, we anticipate paying $100,000 - $130,000 per year. This role is eligible for variable pay, issued as a monetary bonus or in another form.

At Koch companies, we are entrepreneurs. This means we openly challenge the status quo, find new ways to create value and get rewarded for our individual contributions. Any compensation range provided for a role is an estimate determined by available market data. The actual amount may be higher or lower than the range provided considering each candidate's knowledge, skills, abilities, and geographic location. If you have questions, please speak to your recruiter about the flexibility and detail of our compensation philosophy.

Hiring Philosophy

All Koch companies value diversity of thought, perspectives, aptitudes, experiences, and backgrounds. We are Military Ready and Second Chance employers. Learn more about our hiring philosophy here.

Who We Are

At Koch, employees are empowered to do what they do best to make life better. Learn how our business philosophy helps employees unleash their potential while creating value for themselves and the company.

Our Benefits

Our goal is for each employee, and their families, to live fulfilling and healthy lives. We provide essential resources and support to build and maintain physical, financial, and emotional strength - focusing on overall wellbeing so you can focus on what matters most. Our benefits plan includes - medical, dental, vision, flexible spending and health savings accounts, life insurance, ADD, disability, retirement, paid vacation/time off, educational assistance, and may also include infertility assistance, paid parental leave and adoption assistance. Specific eligibility criteria is set by the applicable Summary Plan Description, policy or guideline and benefits may vary by geographic region. If you have questions on what benefits apply to you, please speak to your recruiter.

Additionally, everyone has individual work and personal needs. We seek to enable the best work environment that helps you and the business work together to produce superior results.

Equal Opportunities

Equal Opportunity Employer, including disability and protected veteran status. Except where prohibited by state law, some offers of employment are conditioned upon successfully passing a drug test. This employer uses E-Verify.