Systems Engineer, Thermal and Airflow

Mill; San Bruno (CA); On-site; USD 16,000 - 27,000; Full time

Job summary

Mill is a waste prevention technology company designing systems to convert food scraps into valuable resources. As a Systems Engineer, you will characterize performance of the next-generation commercial food recycler, work with test, mechanical, electrical, algorithms, and product teams, and take ownership of subsystems from characterization through design improvements.

This hands-on role requires analyzing thermal and airflow data, building reusable analysis tools, and drafting ERD updates.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of hands-on engineering experience with a thermal, airflow/fluids, or mechanical systems focus.
• Experience with thermal testing and airflow characterization; mechanical design with test/analysis skills.
• BS in Mechanical, Thermal, Process, Chemical, or related engineering field.

Responsibilities

• Partner with test engineering to plan experiments and analyze data on temperatures, airflow, humidity, and heat transfer.
• Own targeted subsystems end to end: define requirements, characterize performance, identify failure modes, and drive design improvements.
• Review changes to the ERD and draft updates based on test results and cross-functional input.
• Work with algorithms and firmware teams to refine control schemes for energy use and drying time.
• Support mechanical engineers in evaluating custom hardware like mixing paddles and air deflectors.
• Help define component requirements (fans, blowers, heaters, sensors, flow meters) and assist part selection.
• Build reusable analysis tools and clear reports that are understood across the team.

Skills

Thermal systems

Airflow characterization

Mechanical design

Education

BS in Mechanical, Thermal, Process, Chemical, or related engineering field

Tools

Python

MATLAB

Excel

Job description

Mill is a waste prevention technology company reimagining what it means to eliminate waste, starting with food. We build smart systems and infrastructure for homes, businesses, and municipalities that transform food scraps from landfill-bound waste into valuable resources, including chicken feed. Tens of thousands of Mill’s residential food recyclers are already helping households divert millions of pounds of food scraps every year, paving the way for our upcoming launch of Mill Commercial—the industry’s first end-to-end solution for managing, understanding, and preventing food waste in commercial environments (e.g. grocery, restaurants, food services). At Mill, we are passionate about building easy-to-use, beautifully designed technologies that keep food in the food system and out of landfills.

About this Role

As a Systems Engineer at Mill, you will help characterize, understand, and improve the performance of our next-generation commercial food recycler. This is a hands‑on individual contributor role on a small team. You’ll work closely with our test engineers to turn experimental data into clear conclusions, review and draft changes to the Engineering Requirements Document (ERD), and take ownership of specific subsystems from characterization through design improvement. You’ll collaborate daily with Mechanical, Electrical, Algorithms, and Product. If you enjoy digging into thermal and airflow data and turning it into better hardware, this role is for you.

Responsibilities

• Partner with the test engineering team to plan experiments and analyze the resulting data on system parameters such as temperatures, airflow, humidity, and heat transfer. Derive conclusions, quantify tradeoffs, and recommend next steps to improve drying performance, energy efficiency, and throughput.
• Own targeted subsystems (e.g. airflow path, condenser, heater, or drying chamber) end to end: define requirements, characterize performance, identify failure modes, and drive design improvements.
• Review proposed changes to the ERD and draft requirement updates based on test results, field data, and cross-functional input, so that requirements stay current and visible to stakeholders.
• Work with the algorithms and firmware teams to provide the data and system understanding needed to refine control schemes for energy use, drying time, and reliable operation.
• Support mechanical engineers in evaluating and iterating on custom hardware such as mixing paddles, air deflectors, and cutting/shredding components, grounded in test data.
• Help define component requirements (fans, blowers, heaters, sensors, flow meters) and support part selection and evaluation.
• Build reusable analysis tools and clear reports (plots, summaries, test writeups) that make results legible across the team.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of hands‑on engineering experience with a thermal, airflow/fluids, or mechanical systems focus. Experience with thermal testing and airflow characterization is strongly preferred; a mechanical design background with strong test and analysis skills is also a great fit.
• Comfortable analyzing time‑series test data and communicating findings clearly. Python is preferred, but other tools (R, MATLAB, spreadsheets, AI‑assisted analysis) are acceptable.
• Experience writing or reviewing engineering requirements, test plans, or similar technical documentation.
• Familiarity with electromechanical components such as fans, blowers, heaters, valves, and sensors.
• BS in Mechanical, Thermal, Process, Chemical, or a related engineering field.
• Clear written and verbal communication; able to present results to engineers across disciplines.
• Able to work independently on an owned area while collaborating closely with a small, fast‑moving team.

Nice to have

• Prior experience taking a product or process from prototype toward production.
• Exposure to CFD or thermal simulation results and how to validate them against test data.
• Startup or small‑team experience with fast paced environments

The estimated base salary range for this position is $1165 to $195 which does not include the value of benefits or a potential equity grant. A wide range of factors are considered in making compensation decisions, including but not limited to skill sets, market conditions, experience and training, licensure and certifications, and business and organizational needs.

I understand that this role requires a minimum of 2 days a week in office

Voluntary Self‑Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self‑identification survey.Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiringprocess or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in aconfidential file.

As set forth in Mill’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection.As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measurethe effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categoriesis as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service‑connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.