Senior Thermal Engineer; Sunnyvale, CA

Senior Thermal Engineer

This role has been designed as 'Hybrid' with an expectation that you will work on average 2 days per week from an HPE office.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise is the global edge-to-cloud company advancing the way people live and work. We help companies connect, protect, analyze, and act on their data and applications wherever they live, from edge to cloud, so they can turn insights into outcomes at the speed required to thrive in today's complex world. Our culture thrives on finding new and better ways to accelerate what's next.

We know varied backgrounds are valued and succeed here. We have the flexibility to manage our work and personal needs. We make bold moves, together, and are a force for good. If you are looking to stretch and grow your career our culture will embrace you. Open up opportunities with HPE.

HPE is seeking an experienced Senior Thermal Engineer to lead the design, analysis, and validation of cooling solutions for high-density electronic systems. This role combines hands-on thermal engineering with technical leadership, focusing on solving complex thermal challenges, guiding architecture decisions, and ensuring products meet stringent performance and reliability requirements.

This role will be based in our Sunnyvale, CA office on a hybrid work schedule.

• Serve as a key member of the thermal engineering team, owning end-to-end thermal design and analysis for advanced electronic products.
• Define, negotiate, and refine thermal, mechanical, and system-level requirements with cross-functional teams.
• Perform thermal feasibility studies and develop system architectures that meet performance, cost, and reliability targets.
• Conduct detailed thermal modeling and CFD simulations (FloTHERM preferred; Icepak acceptable), including airflow and pressure drop analysis.
• Design and specify thermal solutions, including heat sinks, vapor chambers, heat pipes, air movers, and thermal interface materials (TIMs), adhesives, and related components.
• Develop innovative and practical solutions to complex, high-power-density thermal challenges.
• Collaborate closely with mechanical, electrical, and system engineers to resolve issues and ensure design compliance.
• Participate in strategic engineering decisions in collaboration with business unit leadership.
• Prepare clear, well-structured technical reports and deliver concise presentations to stakeholders.

• Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering (BSME required).
• 10+ years of experience in the design of complex electronic systems.
• 7+ years of direct experience in thermal engineering, analysis, and design.
• Expert-level knowledge of air-cooled electronics design, including fan selection, airflow optimization, and high-impedance system design.
• Proficiency in CFD tools (FloTHERM preferred; Icepak required or equivalent experience).
• Working knowledge of CAD tools (Solid Works, Creo/Pro/E) for design review and model evaluation.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and system-level thinking skills.
• Hands-on experience with thermal testing and lab equipment.

• Master's Degree in Mechanical or Thermal Engineering.
• Experience with liquid cooling architectures (cold plates, direct-to-chip, or system-level cooling).
• Experience in networking, server, telecom, aerospace, or other high-reliability industries.
• Familiarity with thermal aspects of ASIC/package-level design.

Health & Wellbeing

We strive to provide our team members and their loved ones with a comprehensive suite of benefits that supports their physical, financial and emotional wellbeing.

Personal & Professional Development

We also invest in your career because the better you are, the better we all are. We have specific programs catered to helping you reach any career goals you have — whether you want to become a knowledge expert in your field or apply your skills to another division.

Unconditional Inclusion

We are unconditionally inclusive in the way we work and celebrate individual uniqueness. We know varied backgrounds are valued and succeed here. We have the flexibility to manage our work and personal needs. We make bold moves, together, and are a force for good.

Job:
Engineering

Job Level:

The expected salary/wage range for this position is provided below. Actual offer may vary from this range based upon geographic location, work experience, education/training, and/or skill level. – United States of America:
Annual Salary USD 135, in California. The listed salary range reflects base salary. Variable incentives may also be offered.

Information about employee benefits offered in the US can be found at

HPE is an Equal Employment Opportunity/ Veterans/Disabled/LGBT employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, or any other protected category, and all decisions we make are made on the basis of qualifications, merit, and business need. Our goal is to be one global team that is representative of our…