Mechanical Engineer – Customer Focused Team

Ecolab Inc.•Seattle, WA

2d•$94,400 - $141,600

About The Position

The Mechanical Engineer on the Customer Focused Team works closely with a key customer and an advance team to understand customer needs, use cases, and product requirements; agree on project scope and design direction; and remain involved throughout the Coolant Distribution Unit (CDU) design and new product introduction (NPI) lifecycle. The role makes major contributions to mechanical design and collaborates with internal and external teams to keep customer interests central to product development. It requires strong interpersonal and communication skills, along with expertise in mechanical engineering, thermodynamics, and fluid mechanics. The position is based in the San Francisco Bay Area and may involve frequent visits to key customer facilities. Up to 30% domestic and international travel may be required, including travel to Cool IT headquarters in Calgary, customer sites, and industry events. The stated salary range is $94,400 to $141,600, depending on the experience and skills of the successful applicant.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Engineering Physics, or a directly related discipline.
At least 7 years of relevant engineering and/or design experience.
Excellent verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills.
Excellent time-management and organizational skills.
Strong analytical, problem-solving, and risk-mitigation skills.
Experience or capability in thermo-mechanical design calculations, heat transfer, fluid mechanics, piping design, and HVAC.
Proficiency using CAD software, such as SolidWorks, for detailed mechanical designs and drawings.
Knowledge of thermodynamics and heat transfer in liquid-to-liquid and liquid-to-air systems.
Demonstrated understanding of hydraulic and gas fluid behavior, particularly in liquid-cooling systems, including building first-order fluid-network models from component performance curves and generating predicted system-level pressure-flow curves.
Knowledge of datacenter design basics, relevant standards, and facility design and/or operation best practices.
Knowledge of process piping, P&IDs, and building mechanical design, particularly HVAC and fluid transfer.
Understanding of pump, motor, heat exchanger, and sensor selection, testing, and validation.
Knowledge of technical product and design review, including competitive benchmarking, performance, estimated cost, Design for Manufacturability, Design for Assembly, and Design for Service.
Knowledge of engineering change management for NPI and sustaining products.
Ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams, customers, and external partners.
Ability to understand customer needs and translate them into functional engineering requirements that guide product design.
Ability to provide technical leadership in complex projects involving cross-functional teams.
Ability to perform engineering design calculations and FEA simulation for fluid mechanical, thermal, and/or seismic analyses.
Ability to travel domestically and internationally to company headquarters in Calgary, customer sites, and industry conferences and trade shows.

Nice To Haves

Professional engineering designation, or eligibility to obtain it in California within 12 months.
Experience in the datacenter, high-performance computing, or liquid-cooling industries.
Experience in customer-facing work such as technical sales, key account management, consulting, or engineering roles with frequent customer interaction.
Experience in product design, technical sales, or engineering of thermal-management and heat-transfer solutions, fluid dynamics, datacenter, or HVAC products.
Experience with rapid-prototyping manufacturing techniques and testing thermal/mechanical components or assemblies, and familiarity with laboratory data-collection equipment.
Familiarity with NPI product design, PLM, and PDM processes and their role in engineering change management.
Proficiency with finite-element computer simulations, including CFD, heat transfer, and stress/strain analysis.
Experience with seismic analysis.
Knowledge of Design for Lean Six Sigma or related statistical product-design methodologies.

Responsibilities

Develop and maintain excellent working relationships with the key customer.
Lead early-stage NPI design of Coolant Distribution Units as part of a customer-focused team, supporting agreement on product specifications, requirements, and design approach.
Contribute substantially to initial product design using thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and mechanical engineering principles, and develop accurate performance models to support product architecture and design decisions.
Support rapid iteration of design concepts through technology assessments, feasibility analyses, and proofs of concept.
Oversee the building and testing of thermal, hydraulic, and integrated assembly prototypes for validation.
Create engineering drawings, reports, design reviews, and other documentation to communicate design ideas, test results, and recommendations to internal teams and external stakeholders.
Work with core teams, customers, and industry partners to deliver CDU designs on time and meet or exceed market needs.
Review and approve designs, drawings, and other engineering documentation.
Advance CDU component and system design and help maintain the company’s competitive advantage.
Collaborate with industry groups to define and influence emerging standards and best practices.
Seek ways to improve CDU performance, reliability, cost, and efficiency.
Mentor and guide junior team members.