Staff Thermal Engineer – Avionics Cooling Leader

Lever, Inc.; Dallas (TX); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Bonus

Benefits

Job summary

Shield AI is seeking a Staff Thermal Engineer to serve as the technical authority for avionics thermal management across V-BAT, defining architecture and test standards from concept to production. You will lead analyses, develop models, and guide cross-disciplinary teams to deliver robust cooling solutions.

You will mentor engineers, drive trade studies, and influence mechanical, electrical, and systems design while communicating complex findings clearly to leadership and customers.

Qualifications

• B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related discipline.
• Minimum 8 years of professional experience in avionics or electronics thermal engineering, including technical ownership of thermal solutions carried through qualification and into production.
• Expert knowledge of heat transfer (conduction, convection, radiation) and fluid mechanics, with the ability to validate complex models using first-principles calculations.
• Proven experience defining and integrating active and passive cooling solutions at component, subsystem, and system level.
• In-depth knowledge of thermal management design elements, including TIMs, spreaders, heat sinks, cold plates, vapor chambers, heat pipes, and fans, and how they are selected, qualified, and manufactured.
• Advanced proficiency with thermal analysis and CFD tools (e.g., ANSYS Icepak, FloEFD, STAR-CCM+), including setting up, reviewing, and correlating models against test data.
• Experience with CAD design tools such as NX, SolidWorks, or similar, and with PLM-controlled design release.
• Demonstrated experience planning and executing thermal qualification and verification testing, including instrumentation and data acquisition.
• Track record of technical leadership: leading trade studies, presenting at design reviews, and influencing cross-functional design decisions.
• Experience mentoring engineers and reviewing their technical work.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate technical findings clearly to engineering teams, program leadership, and customers.
• Proven ability to self-direct, prioritize without oversight, and deliver in a fast-paced, startup environment.

Responsibilities

• Serve as technical owner and authority for avionics thermal management across V-BAT, from concept through design, analysis, qualification, and production.
• Define avionics thermal architecture, derive thermal requirements, and establish thermal environments and interface requirements for avionics bays, enclosures, and components.
• Develop, review, and approve analytical, numerical, and computational heat transfer and fluid flow models using hand calculations and CFD tools such as FloEFD.
• Lead trade studies, system architecture decisions, and risk assessments. Balance thermal performance against power, weight, volume, cost, maintainability, and schedule.
• Define qualification and verification strategy. Lead test planning, instrumentation, and data analysis, and correlate models with test data.
• Influence electrical and PCBA design direction early, including component placement, power dissipation budgets, and thermal design rules.
• Author thermal specifications and statements of work. Evaluate suppliers and provide technical direction to them for thermal hardware such as heat sinks, cold plates, heat pipes, vapor chambers, and fans.
• Lead thermal content at design reviews and produce clear, traceable technical reports and analysis records.
• Mentor and develop junior and senior engineers. Review their analyses and test plans and guide cross-disciplinary teams in applying thermal and fluid fundamentals.
• Identify program-level thermal risks early, propose mitigations, and drive them to closure.

Skills

Thermal Analysis

CFD Analysis

Heat Transfer

Technical Leadership

Mentoring

Modeling & Verification

Education

B.S. in Mechanical Engineering

B.S. in Aerospace Engineering

M.S. in Engineering

Tools

ANSYS Icepak

FloEFD

STAR-CCM+

NX

SolidWorks

Job description

Shield AI is seeking a Staff Thermal Engineer to serve as the technical authority for avionics thermal management across V-BAT, defining architecture and test standards from concept to production. You will lead analyses, develop models, and guide cross-disciplinary teams to deliver robust cooling solutions.

You will mentor engineers, drive trade studies, and influence mechanical, electrical, and systems design while communicating complex findings clearly to leadership and customers.