Thermal Engineer

AMD; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Benefits at a glance

Job summary

AMD in San Jose is seeking a thermal engineer to design, model, and validate cooling solutions for next-generation SoCs, GPUs, and HPC platforms. You will perform simulations, analyze test data, and collaborate across engineering teams to ensure thermal performance and reliability.

The ideal candidate has a Master’s or PhD in mechanical/aerospace engineering, strong heat transfer fundamentals, and proficiency with Ansys Icepak, FloTHERM, FloTHERM XT, AEDT, and data analysis in Python/MATLAB.

Qualifications

• Experience in thermal analysis, modeling, characterization, and testing of electronic systems.
• Experience with SoC thermal analysis and hotspot analysis.
• Knowledge of heat transfer fundamentals: conduction, convection, radiation.
• Proficiency with CFD/thermal simulation tools.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to develop thermal solutions across product development.
• Perform die, package, board, and system-level thermal simulations.
• Develop and execute thermal characterization and validation plans.
• Analyze thermal test data and correlate with simulations.
• Support cooling design for air- and liquid-cooled HPC products.
• Conduct first-order calculations to guide design decisions.
• Participate in thermal design reviews and customer engagements.

Skills

Thermal analysis

Modeling

Validation testing

SoC heat maps

CFD tools

Python

MATLAB

SolidWorks

Creo

Linux

Windows

Education

Master's degree in Mechanical/Aerospace Engineering

Tools

Ansys Icepak

FloTHERM

FloTHERM XT

AEDT

Job description

ADVANCE YOUR CAREER. ADVANCE THE WORLD.

At AMD, we believe technology can change lives for the better. It can heal us, entertain us, and make us more connected, productive, and understanding of the world around us. And we’re looking for talent who feel the same: people who want to leave the planet better than they found it, those who don’t shy away from humanity’s challenges but are determined to help solve them.

At AMD, we believe technology can change lives for the better. It can heal us, entertain us, and make us more connected, productive, and understanding of the world around us. And we’re looking for talent who feel the same: people who want to leave the planet better than they found it, those who don’t shy away from humanity’s challenges but are determined to help solve them.

AMD is powering the next generation of supercomputing, high-performance computing, cloud, and AI. Whether you’re designing next-gen processors, enabling AI breakthroughs, or creating go-to-market plans, every role at AMD contributes to something bigger — technology that moves the world forward.

The Role

The focus of this role is to support the thermal design, modeling, characterization, and validation of AMD's next-generation SoC, FPGA, ASIC, and high-performance computing products. You will collaborate with cross-functional teams to develop thermal solutions, perform simulations and testing, and help ensure products meet thermal performance, reliability, and customer requirements throughout the product development lifecycle.

THE PERSON:

You are passionate about thermal engineering and advanced electronics cooling technologies. You have a strong foundation in heat transfer fundamentals and enjoy solving challenging thermal problems through analytical modeling, simulation, and experimentation. You are a team player with strong communication skills who works effectively across engineering disciplines and contributes in a fast-paced product development environment.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Collaborate with program managers, product planning, Power and Performance, Silicon Technology, Silicon Validation, Operation and Testing, Packaging, Reliability, and Technical Marketing teams to understand product requirements, silicon operation and characterization results, and drive thermal solutions throughout the product development cycle.
• Perform die, package, board, and system-level thermal simulations to evaluate product thermal performance and support cooling solution development.
• Develop and execute thermal characterization and validation plans for hardware platforms.
• Analyze thermal test data and correlate measurements with simulation models to improve model accuracy and predict product performance.
• Support the design and optimization of air-cooled and liquid-cooled thermal solutions for high-performance computing products.
• Conduct thermal analysis and back-of-the-envelope calculations to guide design decisions and assess design tradeoffs.
• Participate in thermal design reviews and provide recommendations to improve product thermal performance, reliability, and manufacturability.
• Support customer technical engagements by participating in customer meetings, design reviews, thermal discussions, and issue resolution activities.
• Collaborate with Technical Marketing and customer-facing teams to communicate thermal capabilities, requirements, and best practices.
• Research thermal management materials, cooling technologies, and industry best practices to support future product development.
• Develop and maintain technical documentation, simulation methodologies, test procedures, and engineering reports.
• Communicate findings and collaborate effectively with internal teams, customers, and external partners as required.

PREFERRED EXPERIENCE:

• Experience in thermal analysis, modeling, characterization, and testing of electronic systems, semiconductor packages, or computing hardware.
• Experience with SoC thermal analysis, including interpretation of floorplans, power maps, thermal maps, hotspot analysis, and thermal optimization methodologies.
• Working knowledge of power generation mechanisms in modern SoCs, including familiarity with power management features and interactions between power, performance, and thermal behavior.
• Strong understanding of heat transfer fundamentals including conduction, convection, and radiation.
• Proficient in CFD and thermal simulation tools such as Ansys Icepak, AEDT, FloTHERM, FloTHERM XT, or equivalent.
• Experience with thermal validation and laboratory testing techniques, including thermocouples, data acquisition systems, airflow measurements, thermal chambers, and related instrumentation.
• Familiarity with air-cooling and liquid-cooling technologies for high-power electronics.
• Ability to perform first-order analytical calculations and engineering estimates to support design decisions.
• Experience analyzing large datasets and generating engineering insights using tools such as Python, MATLAB, or similar scripting languages.
• Familiarity with CAD tools such as SolidWorks, Creo, or equivalent mechanical design software.
• Understanding of semiconductor packaging, high-performance computing systems, AI accelerators, servers, or data-center hardware.
• Experience working directly with customers and cross-functional teams to address thermal requirements and resolve technical issues.
• Experience working in Linux and Windows environments.
• Strong problem-solving, communication, presentation, and technical documentation skills.
• Exposure to cross-functional product development processes and collaboration with multiple engineering disciplines.

ACADEMIC CREDENTIALS:

• Master's degree or PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related engineering discipline.

This role is not eligible for visa sponsorship.

Benefits offered are described: AMD benefits at a glance.

AMD does not accept unsolicited resumes from headhunters, recruitment agencies, or fee-based recruitment services. AMD and its subsidiaries are equal opportunity, inclusive employers and will consider all applicants without regard to age, ancestry, color, marital status, medical condition, mental or physical disability, national origin, race, religion, political and/or third-party affiliation, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We encourage applications from all qualified candidates and will accommodate applicants’ needs under the respective laws throughout all stages of the recruitment and selection process.

AMD may use Artificial Intelligence to help screen, assess or select applicants for this position. AMD’s “Responsible AI Policy” is available here.