Mechanical Engineer - Thermal Management Systems

Karman Industries

Karman Industries is a Torrance-based thermal technology company building the backbone for giga-scale AI infrastructure. Founded by a team from SpaceX, Rocket Lab, and GE, Karman is moving beyond legacy cooling with the launch of the HPU (Heat Processing Unit)—a new category of thermal architecture designed for the 100kW+ rack era.

The HPU shrinks the exterior mechanical yard by up to 80% while reducing peak energy consumption by 10%+. Unlike traditional systems, the Karman HPU provides zero-water (WUE 0) cooling that ensures high-TDP GPUs and HBM4 memory stay at optimal thermal setpoints without throttling.

Founded in 2024, we’re a fast-growing team of passionate professionals dedicated to making a tangible impact on the future of humanity. We design, build, and test real hardware, and we lead with ownership: you’ll own your work from concept to hardware and help shape how we scale. Our values are Ownership, Performance Excellence, Radical Transparency, and Customer-Centricity.

Join us in our mission to transform the industry and contribute to a more sustainable world.

Mechanical Engineer, Thermal Management Systems

Karman Industries is seeking a highly motivated mechanical engineer with experience in thermal management to join our team designing the next generation of heat processing systems. The candidate will lead the design, development, and qualification of cooling systems for power conversion devices, high-frequency transformers, medium voltage electrical machines, and cutting-edge medium voltage electronics to enable the Karman Heat Processing Unit (HPU) and subsequent product development. The role will include system level analysis and simulation with a view to manufacturing, addressing cooling technologies, thermal interfaces, fluid dynamics, dielectrics, and more. We are a team that relies on strong first principles approach, working together to deliver a cohesively developed system.

Responsibilities:

• Define cooling strategies for power electronics systems, including inverters, drive systems, power supplies, and controls

• Design heat management systems for PCBs and electrical assemblies

• Collaborate with manufacturing engineers to identify viable fabrication methods for cold plates, immersion liquids, heat transfer materials, and enclosures

• Coordinate with materials experts to identify thermal and thermo-mechanical factors in lifespan of subcomponents

• Work with a tightly knit team across disciplines to integrate thermal, mechanical, and electrical designs into cohesive power conversion products

• Ability to implement novel solutions to challenging problems, thinking outside the box and challenging the status quo

• Develop analytical, physics-based (first principles) models to determine hardware performance and limitations

Required Qualifications:

• B.Sc. in mechanical engineering

• 3+ years of experience in the design of thermal management systems for electrical hardware

• Hands-on experience with heat transfer systems and materials

• Knowledge of basic DFM practices

• Self-motivated / high performer, ability to self-manage, multi-task, and communicate excellently

Desired Skills and Experience:

• Background in electrical isolation and safety, including electrical safety standards in the UL or IEC family

• Experience developing electronics packaging systems

• Competency with structural and thermal analysis techniques

• Familiarity with industrial automation and the vendor ecosystem

Karman Industries is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Karman Industries is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

Direct applicants only — we are not working with outside recruiters or agencies for this role.