Principal Thermal Engineer

Job Title

Principal Thermal Engineer

Role Summary

Design and validate thermal architecture and solutions for high-performance AI compute platforms, including the Qualcomm Dragonfly™ AI300 family. The role spans simulation, test, and optimization across silicon, package, and system levels.

Work within the Hardware Systems organization and collaborate with cross-functional teams in silicon, packaging, hardware, and system engineering to move designs from concept to production.

Experience Level

Senior. See Education Requirements for the explicit years-of-experience guidance associated with degree levels (Bachelor's, Master's, PhD); the role expects senior-level thermal engineering experience on high-performance or data-center products.

Responsibilities

Lead thermal engineering activities across simulation, testing, and design reviews.

• Lead thermal architecture definition and trade-off discussions across stakeholders.
• Perform thermal simulations (CFD) from silicon/package level through system and data-center environments.
• Plan, execute, and analyze thermal validation tests to validate and calibrate simulation models.
• Drive strategy and present technical direction, results, and recommendations to engineering teams and leadership.
• Document simulation and test results and drive model accuracy improvements throughout development.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with packaging, hardware, and system teams on thermal design integration.

Requirements

Must-have technical skills and domain experience; degree-level and specific years are listed under Education Requirements.

• Extensive industry experience in electronics cooling for high-performance computing, AI, or data-center products.
• Experience developing thermal solutions for high-power processors, GPUs, or accelerators using air, liquid, or hybrid cooling.
• Deep knowledge of thermal management components: TIMs, heat spreaders, heat sinks, vapor chambers, heat pipes, and forced-air cooling.
• Familiarity with advanced packaging (2.5D/3D) and high-power accelerator packaging.
• Strong CFD expertise with hands-on use of tools such as ANSYS Icepak, Celsius EC, Flotherm, or similar.
• Proficiency in scripting/programming for data analysis and model automation (Python, C/C++, MATLAB, or equivalent).
• Practical experience designing and executing laboratory thermal validation experiments and using airflow, temperature, power, and data-acquisition instrumentation.
• Proven ability to correlate simulation models with empirical test results and improve model fidelity.
• Strong communication and presentation skills for technical and non-technical audiences; ability to influence cross-functional teams.
• Familiarity with AI/ML workloads and accelerator architectures is a plus.

Education Requirements

Bachelor's in Chemical, Electrical, Mechanical Engineering or a related field with 8+ years of relevant System/Package Design or Technology Engineering experience; OR Master's in those fields with 7+ years; OR PhD in those fields with 6+ years. Equivalent practical experience is accepted where specified.

About the Company

Company: Qualcomm

Headquarters: San Diego, California, United States

Qualcomm is a global leader in semiconductor and telecommunications equipment, specializing in mobile technologies and innovations. Known for its Adreno GPUs, the company provides solutions enabling advancements in mobile gaming, AI, VR/AR, and autonomous driving. Qualcomm's cutting-edge technology and commitment to high-performance, power-efficient designs drive the evolution of mobile graphics and connectivity worldwide.