Senior Product Engineer - Air Cooled Screw Chillers (hybrid)

Johnson Controls•New Freedom, PA

31d•$85,000 - $115,000•Hybrid

About The Position

What you will do Johnson Controls is hiring! The Senior Product Engineer for Air Cooled Screw Chillers, serves as the technical owner for air‑cooled screw chiller platforms designed for mission‑critical environments such as data centers, hospitals, telecom facilities, and high‑availability industrial processes. The role ensures that products deliver continuous, stable, and efficient cooling under extreme ambient conditions and demanding load profiles. You will drive product improvements, resolves field issues, supports manufacturing, and leads cross‑functional initiatives that enhance reliability, performance, and competitiveness. This position is based onsite in New Freedom, PA. Candidates must be commuting distance to the office, or able to relocate. Johnson Controls offers various relocation packages to suit your needs! How you will do it Lead product lifecycle management for assigned air‑cooled screw chiller models, ensuring performance, reliability, cost, and manufacturability targets are consistently met. Drive engineering changes and product enhancements involving compressors, microchannel or fin‑tube coils, EC fans, frames, piping, and refrigerant circuits. Conduct advanced engineering analyses including thermal modeling, airflow assessments, structural evaluations, vibration analysis, and screw compressor performance characterization. Develop and validate redundancy strategies (N+1, modular configurations) to meet mission‑critical uptime requirements. Lead root‑cause investigations for field issues, focusing on reliability, thermal stability, and performance under abnormal or transient conditions. Support lab and environmental chamber testing, including high‑ambient performance validation, part‑load testing, and transient response evaluation. Collaborate with manufacturing to resolve production issues, improve build quality, and optimize assembly processes for large‑frame screw chiller systems. Work with suppliers on component qualification, cost reduction, quality improvements, and evaluation of emerging technologies such as low‑GWP refrigerants and high‑efficiency variable‑speed screw compressors. Ensure compliance with AHRI 550/590, ASHRAE 90.1, UL/ETL, DOE efficiency standards, and refrigerant safety regulations. Maintain accurate product documentation including drawings, BOMs, specifications, and service instructions. Provide technical support to service, applications engineering, and sales teams for customer inquiries, configurations, and mission‑critical deployment requirements.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering
5+ years of experience in HVAC, refrigeration, or mechanical product engineering, with significant experience in screw compressor–based systems.
Strong understanding of vapor‑compression refrigeration cycles, screw compressor operation, heat transfer, thermodynamics, and airflow dynamics.
Proficiency with CAD tools and familiarity with thermal, structural, and airflow simulation tools.
Demonstrated experience supporting manufactured products, including troubleshooting, sustaining engineering, and continuous improvement.
Knowledge of AHRI 550/590, ASHRAE 90.1, UL/ETL certification processes, and DOE efficiency requirements.
Strong analytical, problem‑solving, and communication skills, with the ability to lead cross‑functional initiatives.

Nice To Haves

Experience with mission‑critical cooling systems for data centers, healthcare, telecom, or industrial process cooling.
Familiarity with microchannel coil design, EC fan systems, variable‑speed screw compressors, and low‑GWP refrigerants.
Hands‑on experience with environmental chamber testing, high‑ambient performance validation, and transient load testing.
Understanding of manufacturing processes such as brazing, welding, sheet‑metal fabrication, and coil production.
Experience with PLM systems, configuration management, DFMEA/PFMEA, and structured problem‑solving methodologies.
Background in acoustic engineering, vibration mitigation, or structural optimization for large outdoor HVAC equipment.

Responsibilities

Lead product lifecycle management for assigned air‑cooled screw chiller models, ensuring performance, reliability, cost, and manufacturability targets are consistently met.
Drive engineering changes and product enhancements involving compressors, microchannel or fin‑tube coils, EC fans, frames, piping, and refrigerant circuits.
Conduct advanced engineering analyses including thermal modeling, airflow assessments, structural evaluations, vibration analysis, and screw compressor performance characterization.
Develop and validate redundancy strategies (N+1, modular configurations) to meet mission‑critical uptime requirements.
Lead root‑cause investigations for field issues, focusing on reliability, thermal stability, and performance under abnormal or transient conditions.
Support lab and environmental chamber testing, including high‑ambient performance validation, part‑load testing, and transient response evaluation.
Collaborate with manufacturing to resolve production issues, improve build quality, and optimize assembly processes for large‑frame screw chiller systems.
Work with suppliers on component qualification, cost reduction, quality improvements, and evaluation of emerging technologies such as low‑GWP refrigerants and high‑efficiency variable‑speed screw compressors.
Ensure compliance with AHRI 550/590, ASHRAE 90.1, UL/ETL, DOE efficiency standards, and refrigerant safety regulations.
Maintain accurate product documentation including drawings, BOMs, specifications, and service instructions.
Provide technical support to service, applications engineering, and sales teams for customer inquiries, configurations, and mission‑critical deployment requirements.