Staff Engineer, Advanced Thermal Applications

About the Role

The Staff Engineer, Advanced Thermal Applications serves as a key technical resource within the Global Advanced Thermal Applications team. This role supports complex internal and external customer requests related to thermal, fluid dynamics, and airflow analyses. It focuses on defining, maintaining, and continuously improving processes and analytical standards for these studies, with a strong emphasis on Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis of external heat rejection equipment site layouts.

Responsibilities

• Perform CFD analyses to support customer-specific heat rejection site evaluations, including:
  • Translating customer requests into appropriate analytical scope, defining assumptions, boundary conditions, and success criteria.
  • Evaluating airflow distribution, unit-to-unit interaction, airflow recirculation effects, and thermal performance impacts due to layout, wind, and surrounding structures.
  • Providing recommendations to reduce the impact of the above parameters on thermal performance.
  • Communicating results professionally and clearly to internal and external stakeholders (e.g., customers, applications engineering).
• Support special technical inquiries from customers where standard selection tools or guidelines are insufficient or analysis is complicated.
• Define and maintain CFD modeling standards, including geometry simplification rules, meshing strategies, modeling approaches, boundary condition conventions, validation methods, and sensitivity checks.
• Establish documentation and reporting standards to ensure consistency, traceability, and appropriate use of analysis results.
• Stay up to date with developments in the CFD industry and evaluate capabilities of commercial CFD simulation providers.
• Support internal training efforts by articulating how and why CFD studies are performed and how results should (and should not) be used.
• Perform or support other forms of thermal and fluid mechanics analysis as needed, which may include:
  • Simplified thermal or fluid mechanics calculations.
  • Heat exchanger performance assessments.
  • Back-of-the-envelope or reduced-order models for screening studies.
• Provide engineering judgment regarding when CFD is required versus when simpler methods are appropriate.
• Serve as a technical point of contact for customer studies within the Advanced Applications team.
• Collaborate with Product Engineering, BPI, Research and Development, Applications, and Sales to ensure analytical approaches align with product capabilities and published guidance.

Requirements

• Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering or related field; advanced degree preferred.
• Strong fundamentals in fluid mechanics, heat transfer, and thermodynamics.
• 8+ years of experience in the HVAC industry, with a minimum of 5 years performing complex CFD analyses for external flow, thermal, or HVAC-related applications.
• Ability to work independently, prioritize work, and exercise sound engineering judgment on open-ended problems.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain complex results to internal and external customers.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with HVAC, evaporative cooling, or heat rejection equipment.
• Experience with phase-change heat transfer simulation.
• Experience defining or enforcing engineering standards or analytical best practices.
• Familiarity with experimental validation concepts or interaction with laboratory/testing teams.
• Experience supporting customer-specific engineering analyses.

Working Conditions

This position is primarily analytical and office-based, with standard working hours of 40 hours per week and flexible start and finish times. Work is mainly sedentary with extensive computer use. Occasional travel to manufacturing facilities or job sites may be required, potentially involving exposure to weather, noise, heat, and industrial environments. Occasional evening or weekend work may be needed.

Pay

BAC Hiring Compensation Range: $98,400 - $168,900.

Eligible to participate in an annual bonus incentive program.

Benefits

BAC offers a comprehensive benefits package, including:

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• Paid time off.
• 401k retirement plan.
• Employee stock ownership plan.