Principal Engineer, Advanced Cooling Engineering

About the role

Reporting to the Chief Technology Officer, the Principal Engineer, Advanced Cooling Engineering will lead SpinCo's advanced thermal management strategy for next-generation AI data center infrastructure. This role is responsible for developing the roadmap and engineering capability across direct-to-chip liquid cooling, secondary fluid networks, CDUs, rear-door heat exchangers, hot-aisle containment, facility-level cooling, and integrated thermal management. The role will build on our established direct-to-chip liquid cooling capability and expand from rack-level thermal solutions through facility-scale cooling systems.

This is a hands-on technical leadership role. You will be in the details, generating architectures, models, specifications, and analysis yourself rather than only directing others to do so. We are looking for a leader who can run a full design-build cycle, set the technical bar by example, and is measured more by working hardware and validated designs than by decks and white papers.

What a typical day looks like

• Define and lead the multi-generation cooling roadmap across rack, row, hall, and facility-level thermal management.
• Lead applied R&D and prototype development for high-heat-flux cooling solutions supporting next-generation AI XPUs and high-density compute platforms.
• Develop SpinCo's integrated thermal management strategy, connecting rack-level liquid cooling, CDUs, facility cooling, containment, and controls into a coordinated platform.
• Partner with Systems Architecture Engineering to ensure thermal systems are designed concurrently with power, IT infrastructure, controls, and modular product architectures.
• Establish design standards, interface control documents, product specifications, and validation requirements for scalable liquid cooling platforms.
• Support customer-facing technical reviews with hyperscalers, colocation providers, neoclouds, and ecosystem partners.
• Drive manufacturability, reliability, cost optimization, and design-for-scale practices in partnership with operations, supply chain, quality, and manufacturing engineering.

The experience we're looking to add to our team

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Thermal Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related technical field; Master's or PhD preferred.
• 12+ years of experience in thermal systems, liquid cooling, HVAC, data center infrastructure, or advanced mechanical systems.
• Demonstrated leadership in electrical, mechanical, and/or systems architecture engineering disciplines.
• Demonstrated expertise in fluid dynamics, heat transfer, pumps, manifolds, valves, material compatibility, mechanical reliability, and thermal/fluid simulation.
• Experience with direct-to-chip liquid cooling, CDUs, rack/server thermal design, or high-density data center cooling strongly preferred.
• Proven ability to lead multidisciplinary engineering teams from concept through validation and commercialization.
• Strong cross-functional leadership across product management, PMO, operations, manufacturing, supply chain, quality, and customers.
• Demonstrated personal track record producing thermal designs, fluid and thermal simulation, and validated hardware, not only managing teams that do.