Thermal-Mechanical R&D Engineer

Advantest • Lake Forest, CA

3d

About The Position

Advantest is seeking a Thermal-Mechanical R&D Engineer to join its Global Thermal R&D Team and contribute to developing, evaluating, and integrating advanced thermal technologies for semiconductor test applications. The role addresses thermal-management challenges arising from increasing semiconductor device power, complexity, and thermal density.

The engineer will independently take technical investigations from problem definition through first-principles analysis, modeling, experimentation, prototype development, and recommendations, with limited day-to-day direction. The work includes investigating emerging technologies, developing analytical and simulation models, designing and executing experiments, building and troubleshooting prototype hardware and test setups, and correlating models with hardware results. The engineer will collaborate with multidisciplinary teams and external stakeholders to integrate thermal technologies into semiconductor test systems and product architectures, and communicate technical findings and recommendations to varied audiences.

The role is suited to a self-driven, hands-on engineer with strong thermal fundamentals who can navigate open-ended challenges and balance performance with robustness, manufacturability, reliability, cost, and system integration. Relevant industry experience is desirable, but demonstrated engineering capability, curiosity, judgment, and initiative are valued over a specific number of years. A master’s degree and five or more years of relevant experience are preferred.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Thermal Engineering, or a closely related technical field.
• Strong engineering fundamentals in heat transfer, thermodynamics, and fluid mechanics.
• Demonstrated experience applying engineering fundamentals, analytical methods, modeling, or experimentation to thermal engineering problems.
• Hands-on engineering experience developing prototypes, experiments, thermal test setups, laboratory hardware, or similar systems.
• Ability to structure and solve complex or open-ended technical problems where the solution or path forward may not initially be well defined.
• Ability to independently drive day-to-day technical activities with limited supervision while proactively seeking alignment, expertise, and support when needed.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and technical communication skills.
• Ability to collaborate effectively across engineering disciplines and within a globally distributed R&D organization.

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree.
• Five or more years of relevant industry experience in thermal engineering, product development, R&D, or a related engineering discipline.
• Experience with semiconductor thermal management, semiconductor test, electronics cooling, high-power electronics, servers/HPC, or other high-heat-flux applications.
• Experience with thermal/CFD modeling tools such as ANSYS, FloEFD, Icepak, or equivalent.
• Experience with MATLAB, Python, or similar tools for engineering analysis, modeling, automation, or data processing.
• Experience with design of experiments (DOE), experimental characterization, and correlation of analytical or simulation models with hardware data.
• Familiarity with semiconductor packaging, device thermal characterization, temperature-control systems, instrumentation, or semiconductor test equipment.

Responsibilities

• Develop and evaluate advanced thermal solutions for high-power semiconductor test applications.
• Investigate emerging thermal-management technologies and assess their applicability to current and future semiconductor test requirements.
• Contribute to future thermal technologies and longer-term technical roadmaps.
• Structure and drive technical investigations from initial problem definition through analysis, experimentation, and recommendation.
• Apply heat transfer, thermodynamics, and fluid mechanics fundamentals, along with modeling, simulation, experimentation, and engineering judgment, to solve thermal problems and evaluate design trade-offs.
• Develop analytical and simulation models to understand thermal behavior, predict performance, and guide engineering decisions.
• Design and execute experiments to characterize thermal components, interfaces, cooling technologies, and system-level performance.
• Design, build, instrument, and troubleshoot prototype hardware and thermal test setups.
• Analyze experimental and simulation results, correlate models with hardware performance, and use findings to improve designs and technical solutions.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary engineering teams to integrate thermal technologies into semiconductor test systems and product architectures.
• Work with internal teams, customers, suppliers, universities, and external technology partners to evaluate technologies and solve technical challenges.
• Communicate technical findings, design trade-offs, risks, and recommendations to technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Benefits

• Competitive total rewards package that may include bonus opportunities, health and welfare benefits, retirement programs, paid time off, and other company-sponsored benefits.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level