Salary Range: 130000 to 160000 (Currency: USD) (Pay period: per-year-salary)
Energy Recovery is seeking a qualified candidate for an immediate full-time job opening for the position of Senior R&D Engineer, located in San Leandro, CA and reporting to the Engineering Manager (Product Design). The R&D department is a dynamic group of engineers and technicians with a wide range of backgrounds, several of them holding PhD and Masters Degrees. We are looking for a talented and energetic candidate who can thrive in a team environment and lead/support R&D projects for developing and delivering innovative products for energy recovery applications.
The position requires industry experience in heating & cooling industry (HVACR) and a well-rounded expertise in thermodynamics, vapor compression cycles, heat transfer as well as mechanical & thermal design of HVACR components. This position is responsible for hands-on development – component design/sizing/selection, analysis, prototype fabrication, test loop design, instrumentation selection, experimental validation, troubleshooting and release of rotating equipment such as pressure exchangers for HVACR applications. A sound knowledge base in machine design, dynamics and vibrations is required. Expertise in use of CAD packages such as SolidWorks, FE Analysis tools such as ANSYS, Simulink/SimScape, Modelica, CFX/Fluent etc. is highly desirable. The candidate will spend bulk of his time working with a multidisciplinary team to develop disruptive technologies and products based on our proprietary isobaric pressure exchangers. In addition, the candidate will be providing 1D modeling and design support to various NTI/NPI projects including validation testing. The position also requires strategic outlook for technology and products towards enhancing their commercial applications.
Major Duties & Responsibilities:
- Lead R&D projects (NTI/NPI) involving fluid machines and thermal system components such as pressure exchangers, compressors, heat exchangers, valves, centrifugal and reciprocating pumps, turbines, turbochargers etc. for HVACR, Water & Wastewater applications.
- Lead / participate in the entire development cycle including 1-D sizing (mechanical, thermal & hydraulic), engineering analyses, validation test rig development, experimental validation & release to manufacturing.
- Run detailed thermodynamic analyses to optimize the vapor compression cycle for highest coefficient of performance
- Design components and assemblies and drive the development of detailed engineering drawings with appropriate GD&T while optimizing for manufacturability & quality.
- Perform stress and deflection analysis, rotor dynamics, and vibration analysis.
- Leverage commercial tools such as SolidWorks for CAD, MatLab / SimScape / Modelica and Python for 1-D/2-D analysis, ANSYS Mechanical for structural analysis, CFX/Fluent for hydraulic flow path design optimization etc.
- Design prototype and component validation test rigs, integrate sensors, controls, data acquisition hardware/software (LabVIEW based) to obtain high quality data, perform validation testing in the lab and support pilot/beta testing at remote field sites.
- Develop validation test plans and work closely with testing team to confirm and validate model predictions. Use commercial (e.g. Matlab) and open-source (e.g. Python) software to process test data and draw physics based insights and inputs for models & optimization.
- Work closely with the Product Engineering, Testing, Project Management Office, Manufacturing, Quality Control & Business Units to successfully deliver on NPI/NTI projects.
- Follow ERI’s internal technology and development processes (PDLCM/RDF) and drive rigorous design reviews / documentation at each phase.
- Provide technical support to business units, manufacturing, project engineering and marketing teams as needed.
- Other duties & projects as assigned.
Skills & Requirements:
- Master’s degree or higher in Mechanical Engineering with concentration in thermal systems/ refrigeration / HVACR / Energy systems or similar field.
- 5+ years of relevant industry experience required.
- Proficiency with commercial CAD packages such as SolidWorks is required.
- Experience with mechanical design, and/or selection, validation of rotodynamic & reciprocating fluid machines such as compressors, pumps, turbines, is required.
- Hands on experience with assembly, testing and experimentation, sensors/transducers (to measure pressure, temperature, flow rate, vibration, position, pressure pulsations, noise etc.), controls/data acquisition, data collection languages (e.g. LabVIEW) is required.
- Knowledge of HVACR fundamentals required. Familiarity with trans-critical refrigeration or heat pump systems using R744 (CO2) highly desirable.
- Proficiency in steady state and transient reduced-order, 1D modeling of single phase and multi-phase flows using commercial tools such as Simulink / SimScape, Modelica, GT-Suite or equivalent is highly desirable.
- Proficiency in multi-phase CFD analysis of rotating equipment using ANSYS CFX/Fluent or Star CCM+ would be a plus.
- Familiarity with design of high pressure mechanical systems, developing manufacturing drawings, GD&T, stack-up analysis, RCA, DFMEA, HAZOP desirable.
- Familiarity with engineering standards such as ASHRAE / AHRI / UL / PED / ASME BPVC / API / ANSI / NFPA etc. is a plus.
- Must possess a demonstrated ability to work/lead in a team environment, under pressure, manage multiple tasks, and be goal oriented.
- Ability to oversee and execute on assigned projects from start to completion in a highly analytical, detailed and precise manner.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Position may require up to 10% travel.