Staff Engineer, Thermal

Job Title

Staff Engineer, Thermal

Role Summary

Member of the Hardware Systems organization working within Packaging Engineering to develop thermal architecture, simulation, validation, and optimization for Qualcomm AI compute platforms (including the Dragonfly™ AI300 platform). The role advances product thermal performance from concept through production by combining simulation, lab validation, and cross-functional design tradeoffs.

Experience Level

Senior. Preferred: 6+ years industry experience in electronics cooling or related fields. Minimum qualifications vary by degree (see Education Requirements).

Responsibilities

Primary responsibilities include thermal architecture, simulation, validation, and cross-functional technical leadership.

• Lead thermal architecture development and trade-off analysis across silicon, package, and system levels.
• Perform CFD and thermal simulations from silicon to data-center environments throughout the product lifecycle.
• Drive technical direction, run design reviews, and present thermal strategy to stakeholders.
• Plan and execute thermal validation tests; collect, analyze, and correlate data with models.
• Refine simulation models based on empirical test results and document findings.
• Collaborate with silicon, packaging, hardware, and systems engineering teams to integrate thermal solutions.

Requirements

Core technical skills and experience required or strongly preferred for successful performance in this role.

• Must-have: Hands-on CFD analysis experience using industry tools (e.g., ANSYS Icepak, Flotherm, Celsius EC) and practical experience correlating simulation with test data.
• Must-have: Experience designing and executing thermal validation experiments and using airflow, temperature, power, and data-acquisition instrumentation.
• Must-have: Proficiency in scripting/programming for data analysis and model automation (Python, C/C++, MATLAB, or equivalent).
• Must-have: Knowledge of thermal management components and technologies (TIMs, heat spreaders, heat sinks, vapor chambers, heat pipes, forced-air cooling).
• Must-have: Strong written and verbal communication skills and ability to present technical results to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Nice-to-have: Experience with high-power processors, GPUs, AI accelerators, liquid or hybrid cooling systems, and advanced packaging (2.5D/3D) for high-performance computing or data-center products.
• Nice-to-have: Familiarity with AI/ML workloads and accelerator architectures.

Education Requirements

Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD in Chemical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related technical field with relevant system/package design or technology engineering experience: Bachelor +4 years, Master +3 years, or PhD +2 years of related experience. Related work experience may be considered in lieu of formal degree requirements.

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.