Thermal Design Engineer

Mind Robotics • Palo Alto, CA

5d

About The Position

We are seeking a Thermal Design Engineer to own the thermal design and analysis across our robot, encompassing arms, end effectors, and on-board compute, from the initial concept phase through to volume production. This role involves developing thermal architectures for high-torque-density actuators where heat dissipation is a critical factor for continuous performance. You will also design cooling solutions for end effectors under strict constraints of volume, mass, and cable routing. Additionally, you will manage the thermal management for on-board compute systems, including airflow, heat sinks, heat pipes, vapor chambers, TIMs, and active cooling solutions. Building and validating thermal models using analytical, CFD, and FEA methods, along with hands-on testing, will be key responsibilities. You will also specify and select thermal components, manage supplier relationships, define thermal limits and derating curves in collaboration with other engineering teams, and contribute to design for manufacturing and assembly (DFM/DFA) to ensure scalability for high-volume production. Developing accelerated test plans to validate long-term thermal performance under various environmental and duty-cycle conditions is also part of this role.

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience (or equivalent "hard tech" projects) designing and validating thermal solutions for complex electromechanical systems.
• Strong fundamentals in conduction, convection, and radiation, plus working knowledge of two-phase cooling and heat-pipe / vapor-chamber design.
• Hands-on experience with CFD tools (Ansys Icepak, Flotherm, SolidWorks Flow Simulation, or similar) and thermal FEA.
• Track record solving thermal problems in at least one of: high-torque-density motors / actuators, dense power electronics, or compute (CPU / GPU / custom accelerator).
• Comfortable instrumenting, testing, and debugging thermal performance on real hardware.
• Experience designing for volume processes (extrusion, die casting, brazing, stamping) and working with thermal component suppliers and contract manufacturers.
• High proficiency in SolidWorks, Catia, or similar CAD tools.
• Hands-on problem-solving approach with the ability to iterate quickly.
• Comfortable with ambiguity, move fast, and have an "engineering curiosity" that drives you to understand how the entire system works, not just your part.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in robotics, prosthetics, EV powertrains, drones, or other dense electromechanical systems.
• Familiarity with motor / actuator thermal modeling (winding hot-spot estimation, lumped-parameter networks).
• Experience with liquid cooling or hybrid air / liquid systems.
• PhD or research experience in thermal sciences.

Responsibilities

• Own thermal design and analysis across the robot including arms, end effectors, and on-board compute from concept through volume production.
• Develop thermal architectures for high-torque-density actuators (motors, gearboxes, drives) in joints, where heat dissipation is the limiting factor on continuous performance.
• Design cooling solutions for end effectors within tight volume, mass, and cable-routing constraints.
• Develop thermal management for on-board compute (CPUs, GPUs, custom accelerators, power electronics), including airflow, heat sinks, heat pipes, vapor chambers, TIMs, and active cooling where needed.
• Build thermal models (analytical, CFD, FEA) and validate them with hands-on testing (thermocouple instrumentation, IR imaging, calorimetry, and accelerated stress tests).
• Specify and select thermal components (TIMs, fans, heat pipes, heat sinks, blowers, phase-change materials) and own supplier relationships.
• Define thermal limits, derating curves, and protection logic in collaboration with electrical, firmware, and controls teams.
• Contribute to DFM/DFA so thermal solutions scale from low-volume prototypes to high-volume production.
• Develop accelerated test plans to validate thermal performance over the product's lifetime, including environmental and duty-cycle stress.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed