Turbomachinery Engineer

AtmosZero•Loveland, CO

5d•$110,000 - $200,000•Onsite

About The Position

AtmosZero is hiring a Turbomachinery Engineer in Loveland, Colorado, at one of three levels: Engineer III, Senior Engineer I, or Senior Engineer II. The role reports to the VP, Engineering. The position supports development of production-intent compressors for Boiler 2.0, a modular industrial heat pump that produces steam at temperatures up to 185°C. The compressor is a major technical and cost lever, and the work covers the full rotating assembly, including aerodynamic and mechanical design, motors, bearings, seals, cast components, instrumentation, controls interfaces, supplier execution, and validation. The person hired will own compressor development workstreams, translating system requirements into compressor operating maps, mechanical requirements, interface specifications, and validation criteria. They will lead design-to-cost and production-readiness efforts, conduct and review engineering analyses, develop and execute validation plans, coordinate suppliers and external specialists, and mature the product through design reviews, risk reduction, testing, and controlled design improvements. The level of project ownership, independence, and technical leadership will depend on the experience demonstrated during the interview process. Success in the first year includes understanding the compressor architecture, supplier landscape, open risks, and cost-down roadmap; owning a development workstream; progressing a production-intent design or supplier package through analysis and review; and validating a hardware change that reduces cost, lead time, technical risk, or supplier dependence while meeting performance requirements.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, or a related discipline, with experience appropriate to the level hired.
Strong command of turbomachinery fundamentals, including compressible flow, rotating machinery, thermodynamics, heat transfer, vibration, and mechanical design.
Demonstrated hardware experience designing, analyzing, testing, or troubleshooting compressors or comparable high-speed rotating equipment; simulation-only experience is not sufficient.
Experience in one or more of the following: aerodynamic design, rotor dynamics, bearings, seals, electric motors, high-speed shafts, cast housings, impellers, or vibration analysis.
Ability to connect component-level decisions to system performance, controls, manufacturability, reliability, and cost.
Experience developing test plans, defining instrumentation, analyzing data, and incorporating test results into design decisions.
Experience producing engineering documentation such as requirements, specifications, interface definitions, calculations, drawings, test plans, and design-review records.
Ability to work directly with suppliers and external specialists, resolve incomplete information, and drive technically sound decisions through ambiguity.
Comfort working at a startup developing physical hardware, where established answers may not be available.

Nice To Haves

Hands-on experience developing centrifugal compressors, turbo-compressors, expanders, turbochargers, or comparable high-speed rotating machinery from concept through validation.
Experience with rotor-dynamic, aerodynamic, structural, thermal, or electromagnetic analysis tools used for turbomachinery development.
Experience with high-speed electric motors, motor cooling, power electronics interfaces, magnetic or rolling-element bearings, and dynamic sealing systems.
Experience designing cast or machined turbomachinery components and working with foundries, machine shops, and production suppliers.
Experience with refrigeration, industrial heat pumps, ORC systems, process gas compression, steam systems, or other demanding thermal equipment.
Experience leading cost reduction, value engineering, should-cost analysis, supplier qualification, and competitive sourcing for complex hardware.
Experience coordinating external consultants and reviewing third-party models, calculations, drawings, and test reports.
Experience with failure analysis, vibration diagnostics, high-speed data acquisition, and root-cause investigation.
Graduate degree, professional engineering license, or patents the candidate helped develop.

Responsibilities

Develop production-intent compressor hardware in partnership with the team for high-temperature industrial heat-pump applications.
Own technical workstreams across the high-speed rotating assembly, including impellers, shafts, bearings, seals, housings, motors, interfaces, and supporting instrumentation.
Translate system-level requirements into compressor operating maps, mechanical requirements, interface specifications, and validation criteria.
Improve compressor performance, reliability, manufacturability, and cost as the product moves toward production.
Lead cost-down work involving cast components, part consolidation, alternate manufacturing processes, production-intent instrumentation, motors, seals, and supplier alternatives.
Develop and evaluate design concepts that reduce cost and lead time while preserving performance, reliability, safety, and serviceability.
Work with mechanical design, manufacturing, and supply-chain teams to turn concepts into released drawings, supplier-ready packages, and executable engineering changes.
Support should-cost analysis, competitive sourcing, and technical evaluation of domestic and international suppliers.
Use first-principles analysis and simulation tools to assess aerodynamic performance, rotor dynamics, structural integrity, thermal behavior, critical speeds, vibration, and component life.
Define assumptions, margins, and acceptance criteria so analysis can guide design decisions.
Review external analyses, supplier calculations, test results, and design proposals for technical completeness and sound judgment.
Develop component- and system-level validation plans, instrumentation requirements, test procedures, and acceptance criteria for compressor hardware.
Analyze performance, vibration, thermal, electrical, and reliability data to identify root causes and test design assumptions.
Support prototype builds, commissioning, troubleshooting, failure investigations, and corrective actions in the lab, at suppliers, and in field systems.
Coordinate compressor suppliers, motor specialists, casting suppliers, engineering consultants, and test partners across parallel workstreams.
Prepare technical packages for RFQs, design reviews, prototype procurement, and supplier qualification.
Drive ownership, decisions, interfaces, and action closure across organizations, including where there is no direct authority.
Lead design reviews, DFMEA, technical risk reduction, and validation closure for compressor changes.
Capture lessons from fabrication, assembly, testing, and field operation and translate them into controlled design improvements.
Identify patentable inventions and help develop invention disclosures and filings.