Thermal Engineer

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc•San Jose, CA

About The Position

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.

Requirements

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.

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.