Systems Engineer Data Center Thermal & Fluid Systems

Ecolab Quimica Ltda.; San Jose (CA); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401k plans

Pension plans

Employee stock purchase plan

Job summary

Ecolab seeks an experienced Systems Engineer to join our CDU team, driving end-to-end technical integrity of the CoolIT CDU platforms for state-of-the-art thermal management in hyperscale data centers. The role focuses on system architecture, interfaces, integration, and verification, bridging Electrical, Mechanical, and PLC disciplines to deliver production-ready solutions and evidence of conformance.

You will lead architecture decisions, run cross-discipline trade studies, and guide

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Systems Engineering or related field.
• Minimum of 8 years in electromechanical or controls-based product development.
• Experience owning system architecture, interfaces, or integration.
• Deep understanding of electromechanical systems including interactions between electrical power, controls/PLC, hydraulics/fluids, sensing and safety circuits.
• Knowledge of system safety and risk methods (DFMEA, HAZOP/FMEA).
• Strong grounding in systems engineering fundamentals and verification planning.

Responsibilities

• Own and maintain the CDU system baseline with requirements, architecture, interfaces, risks, and verification evidence.
• Write and maintain system ERDs to ensure traceability and allocation across domains.
• Translate inputs into clear, testable system requirements and logs.
• Provide clarity at discipline boundaries through defined interface ownership and integration.
• Define and validate use cases and operational scenarios for anchor requirements.
• Lead cross-discipline trade studies and document architecture decisions.
• Lead system hazard analysis, DFMEA, and risk register integration.
• Oversee system function integration testing and fault behavior validation.
• Define system verification and validation strategy for certification and mass production.
• Review verification results and approve evidence sufficiency.

Skills

System architecture ownership

Requirements decomposition

Interface definition

Verification planning

Cross-discipline integration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Systems Engineering or related field

Tools

DFMEA

HAZOP

Requirements management tools

Job description

We are seeking an experienced Systems Engineer to join our CDU (Coolant Distribution Unit) team in pioneering advanced thermal management solutions that will power the next generation of hyperscale data centers and high performance computing systems.

The successful candidate will be responsible for defining, owning, and delivering the end‑to‑end technical integrity of CoolIT’s CDU platforms. This role bridges Electrical, Mechanical, and PLC disciplines to ensure product requirements are clear, interfaces are stable, risks are managed, and the final product behaves as an integrated, certifiable, and production‑ready system.

This is a technical leadership role focused on system architecture, interfaces, integration, and verification not component level design. It is accountable for system level decisions, technical readiness recommendations, and evidence of integrated product conformance, while the engineering disciplines retain responsibility for detailed subsystem design and subsystem verification.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Own and maintain the CDU system technical baseline, including requirements, architecture, operational behavior, cross discipline interfaces, system risks, integrated configuration, integration strategy, and system verification evidence.
• Author and maintain system level ERDs (Engineering Requirements Document) to ensure clear requirement decomposition, traceability, and allocation across Electrical, Mechanical, and Control Systems domains.
• Establish and maintain the requirements source register and technical assumptions log. Translate customer, product, regulatory, manufacturing, service, and compliance inputs into clear, testable, and traceable system requirements.
• Provide technical clarity and accountability at discipline boundaries through definition of control interface ownership & integration across discipline interfaces between technical project teams.
• Define and validate system use cases & operational scenarios (normal, degraded, faulted, maintenance) to anchor requirements, sequencing, and verification.
• Lead cross discipline trade studies and maintain architecture and technical decision records. Evaluate system performance, reliability, safety, compliance, cost, schedule, manufacturability, serviceability, scalability, and customer impacts, making decisions within delegated authority and escalating material impacts.
• Lead system hazard analysis, system DFMEA, and the technical risk register. Integrate discipline mitigations, link risk controls to verification evidence, and recommend technical risk disposition or escalation.
• Accountable for leading system function integration testing, fault behavior validation, and use‑case testing.
• Define the system level verification and validation strategy, whilst supporting certification, and mass production launch activities with system level technical evidence.
• Review system verification results and confirm whether requirements are verified, failed, or require an approved deviation or waiver. Approve the technical sufficiency and consistency of system evidence while Test Engineering retains responsibility for agreed test execution and recording.
• Drive systems engineering thinking across the team, Vee process development & requirements management tools into the NPI product development lifecycles.
• Collaborate and build strong working relationships with key industry partners and critical component vendors to promote a culture of continuous improvement and the adoption of best‑in‑class technology.

Position Details:

Travel:

• Frequent travel to customer sites within designated client sites in Washington State
• Occasional travel to headquarters in Calgary, AB, Canada.
• Potential International travel as required based on business needs
• Onsite at client facilities and remote work locations

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Systems Engineering, or similar Engineering/Physics based disciplines
• Minimum of 8 years in electromechanical or controls‑based product development.
• Demonstrated experience owning system architecture, interfaces, or integration.
• Deep understanding of electromechanical systems, including interactions between electrical power, controls/PLC, hydraulics/fluids, sensing, and safety circuits.
• Knowledge of system safety and risk methods, including HARA, system DFMEA, HAZOP/FMEA interfaces, mitigation verification, and residual-risk communication.
• Strong grounding in systems engineering fundamentals & tools: requirements decomposition, interface definition, functional analysis, and verification planning.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master's or PhD
• Experience with Thermal Mechanical Engineering, Fluid Dynamics, or a related field.
• Exposure to hyperscale data centers and high performance computing systems
• Experience with high-volume production for industrial products

Annual or Hourly Compensation Range:

$140,000-$200,000 Many factors are taken into consideration when determining compensation, such as experience, education, training, geography, etc. We comply with all minimum wage and overtime laws.

Benefits

Ecolab provides the following benefits: medical, dental, vision, life insurance, accident insurance, critical illness insurance, hospital indemnity insurance, auto insurance, home insurance, pet insurance, identity theft protection, short-term and long-term disability, 401k, pension plans, retirement health care benefits, short-term incentives, vacation (12 days), holidays, parental leave, employee stock purchase plans(Full-Time Associates), discount on day care services and caregiver services, adoption assistance, group legal services, employee assistance program, employee discount program, and education assistance program,on-Site childcare and fitness facilities may be available at select Ecolab locations.

Potential Customer Requirements Notice

• Undergo additional background screens and/or drug/alcohol testing for customer credentialing.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Ecolab will provide reasonable accommodation (such as a qualified sign language interpreter or other personal assistance) with our application process upon request as required to comply with applicable laws. If you have a disability and require accommodation assistance in this application process, please visit the Recruiting Support link in the footer of each page of our career website.