Thermal and Performance Architect

Job Summary 

This role serves as a senior mechanical and thermal engineering leader responsible for driving large, complex initiatives that directly impact the company’s long-range goals and product strategy. The position defines and leads 3–5 year technology roadmaps for thermal and mechanical engineering, identifying key inflection points in Phase Change Materials (PCM), vapor chamber technologies, and active cooling innovations. 

The role operates at the system architecture level, leveraging deep technical expertise in thermal fluids, simulation, and hardware design to influence decision-making at the highest organizational levels. This leader partners closely with silicon vendors, software, firmware, and hardware teams to co-design solutions optimized for performance, performance per watt, acoustics, skin temperature, and form factor, while ensuring compliance with enterprise standards across multiple organizations and architectures. 

Responsibilities 

• Lead multi-year thermal technology roadmaps, identifying and advancing innovations in PCM, vapor chambers, fans, heat pipes, and active cooling solutions across the portfolio 

• Partner with silicon vendors to co-design systems based on power delivery profiles and thermal maps, influencing early platform and architectural decisions 

• Lead deep-dive architectural and competitive analysis of thermal solutions to maintain leadership in performance, performance per watt, and industrial design constraints 

• Drive development of advanced CFD workflows to predict both steady-state and transient thermal behavior during early architecture phases 

• Establish system-level simulation frameworks that correlate thermal throttling behaviors with real-world software benchmarks and workloads 

• Architect advanced thermal tuning algorithms to balance skin temperature, fan acoustics, and system performance for real-life use cases 

• Lead multiple project teams of mechanical and thermal engineers, along with internal and outsourced development partners, across all phases of development including concept, design, validation, tooling, testing, and production readiness 

• Provide architectural consultation, design input, and feedback across new product development and design reviews spanning multiple organizations 

• Review designs and project activities for compliance with engineering standards, development guidelines, and quality requirements, providing actionable feedback to improve product outcomes 

• Troubleshoot complex mechanical, thermal, electrical, and system-level issues with minimal supervision 

• Guide and mentor less-experienced engineers, setting a standard for thermal design innovation, rigor, and excellence 

• Participate in identifying and developing future technical leaders within the organization 

Education & Experience Recommended 

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering with a focus on Thermal Fluids 

• Typically 10+ years of experience in similar roles such as Principal or Senior Thermal Performance Engineer 

• Extensive experience across the hardware development lifecycle, from early architecture through production 

Required Technical Expertise 

• Strong thermal analysis expertise using CFD tools such as Flotherm XT, FLOEFD, Icepak, or equivalent 

• Experience using thermal mockups and validation methods to confirm thermal solutions during early architecture phases 

• Hands-on experience with: 

• Fans, heat pipes, vapor chambers, fluidic and microfluidic cooling designs 

• Relating skin temperature, acoustics, and system performance 

• Designing sheet metal and plastic components, including associated production tooling and manufacturing processes 

• Solid understanding of manufacturing and ODM production processes (strong plus) 

• Proficiency with CAD and simulation tools, including: 

• PTC Creo, SolidWorks, ANSYS 

• Finite Element Methods and 3D modeling 

Knowledge & Skills 

• Mechanical and Thermal Engineering 

• Thermal Management & Performance Optimization 

• New Product Development & Product Lifecycle Management 

• Prototyping and Manufacturing Processes 

• Injection Molding, Machining, Sheet Metal Design 

• Engineering Design Process & System Architecture 

Cross-Organizational Skills 

• Effective executive-level communication 

• Results orientation and ownership mindset 

• Learning agility in fast-evolving technology environments 

• Digital fluency across hardware–software boundaries 

• Strong customer and user-centric design perspective 

Impact & Scope 

• Influences multiple functions and disciplines across HP 

• Shapes long-term thermal and mechanical strategy across the product portfolio 

Complexity 

• Invents, develops, and introduces new thermal methods, frameworks, and technologies that impact multiple disciplines, platforms, and work groups 

 
Disclaimer
This job description describes the general nature and level of work performed in this role. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, skills, responsibilities, knowledge, etc. These may be subject to change and additional functions may be assigned as needed by management.