Full-Time

Thermal Engineer

Posted on 9/12/2025

Rivos

Rivos

201-500 employees

Custom RISC-V server hardware for enterprises

No salary listed

Santa Clara, CA, USA

Hybrid

Category
Mechanical Engineering (2)
,
Required Skills
CAD
Data Analysis
Requirements
  • Minimum of 10 years of progressive experience in thermal engineering, specifically within the semiconductor and/or telecom industry.
  • Experienced in both air cooling and liquid cooling techniques for high-power electronic devices, covering the entire product lifecycle from development to deployment.
  • Experienced in semiconductor packaging. Strong understanding of heat transfer principles (conduction, convection, radiation) and fluid dynamics.
  • Proficiency in commercial CFD software packages, including but not limited to Icepak, Flotherm, and other industry-standard tools.
  • Hands-on experience with thermal testing methodologies, including the design and execution of experiments using wind tunnels, mock-up systems, and environmental chambers.
  • Proven ability to operate and interpret data from Data Acquisition Systems (DAQs), power supplies, thermal cameras, and other relevant thermal measurement equipment.
  • Experience with thermal interface materials (TIMs), heat sinks, heat pipes, cold plates, and other thermal management components.
  • Useful to have familiarity with OCP thermal/mechanical design guidelines and design of Colo boxes
  • Excellent problem-solving skills and a strong analytical mindset.
  • Effective written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present complex technical information clearly and concisely.
  • Ability to work independently and as part of a cross-functional team in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
  • Passionate for working in a startup environment.
Responsibilities
  • Perform the thermal design and analysis of semiconductor products, including integrated circuits, packages, modules, and complete systems, ensuring optimal thermal performance and reliability.
  • Develop and implement innovative air cooling and liquid cooling solutions for high-power density semiconductor devices, from concept generation to detailed design.
  • Conduct thermal simulations using advanced CFD tools (e.g., Icepak, Flotherm, Fluent) to predict temperature distributions, airflow patterns, and heat transfer characteristics.
  • Perform thermal design sensitivity analyses, trade-off studies, and optimization to meet performance, cost, and reliability targets
  • Perform transient thermal modeling of Rivos packages for thermal/power management.
  • Collaborate closely with mechanical, electrical, product engineering, and manufacturing teams to integrate thermal solutions seamlessly into product designs.
  • Execute thermal validation testing using wind tunnels, specialized mock-up systems, and other laboratory equipment.
  • Utilize data acquisition systems (DAQs), power supplies, thermal cameras, thermocouples, and other relevant instrumentation for accurate thermal measurements.
  • Develop and maintain detailed thermal models, documentation, and reports throughout the product development lifecycle.
  • Troubleshoot and resolve complex thermal issues during product development, qualification, and field deployment
  • Stay abreast of the latest advancements in thermal management technologies, materials, and simulation tools.
  • Participate in design reviews, FMEAs, and other quality assurance activities to ensure robust thermal designs.
  • Collaborate with CM, OEM and ODM’s to develop mockups, test samples and production parts
Desired Qualifications
  • Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering; Ph.D. is a plus.
  • Experience with scripting languages (e.g., Python, MATLAB) for data analysis and automation.
  • Experience with CAD tools, particularly SolidWorks, for designing and analyzing thermal components and systems.
  • Knowledge of reliability testing and failure analysis related to thermal performance.
  • Familiarity with industry standards for thermal management in semiconductors

Rivos designs and manufactures custom high-performance server hardware based on the RISC-V open ISA for data centers and enterprise IT. Its products are purpose-built to deliver strong compute performance, energy efficiency, and security for demanding workloads, through hardware tailored to specific tasks rather than off-the-shelf designs. The company differentiates itself by leveraging the flexibility and cost advantages of RISC-V to create bespoke servers that meet enterprise needs, offering close collaboration and support to ensure seamless integration in large-scale infrastructure. Its goal is to serve cloud providers, data centers, and other large IT operators with tailored, dependable server solutions that optimize performance and total cost of ownership.

Company Size

201-500

Company Stage

Series A

Total Funding

$250M

Headquarters

Santa Clara, California

Founded

2021

Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Meta's $2B acquisition in September 2025 validates RISC-V for AI chips.
  • Rivos raised $250M in April 2024 to scale AI inference GPUs.
  • Canonical partnership enables Ubuntu on Rivos RISC-V data centers.

What critics are saying

  • Meta redirects Rivos roadmap to internal AI by 2026, halting enterprise sales.
  • Nvidia's 20-30% H100 price cuts in 2025 lock in CUDA ecosystems.
  • RISC-V fragmentation demands proprietary optimizations, blocking portability.

What makes Rivos unique

  • Rivos builds high-performance RISC-V SoCs with proprietary GPGPU accelerators.
  • Rivos delivers CUDA-compatible software stacks for seamless AI transitions.
  • Rivos taped out 3.1 GHz RISC-V processor for data center efficiency.

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Benefits

Flexible Work Hours

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

50%

1 year growth

53%

2 year growth

51%
Data Centre Dynamics Ltd
Oct 3rd, 2025
Meta acquires RISC-V chip startup Rivos – report

Terms of the deal have not been disclosed

FinancialContent
Sep 30th, 2025
Meta Acquires Rivos for AI Chips

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) has acquired chip startup Rivos to enhance its AI capabilities and reduce reliance on external suppliers. This move, announced on September 30, 2025, aims to integrate Rivos's RISC-V-based processors and GPUs, accelerating Meta's custom AI chip development. The acquisition reflects a broader trend of tech giants pursuing vertical integration in AI hardware, potentially impacting companies like Nvidia. Rivos was previously seeking funding at a $2 billion valuation.

TS2.tech
Sep 30th, 2025
Meta Acquires Rivos for $2B AI Chips

Meta is acquiring chip startup Rivos Inc. for around $2 billion to enhance its AI hardware capabilities and reduce reliance on Nvidia GPUs. Rivos, known for its RISC-V–based AI GPU, raised $250 million in April 2024. This acquisition aligns with Meta's strategy to develop in-house AI chips by 2026, aiming to cut AI compute costs. The move is part of a broader trend among tech giants to control AI chip development, challenging Nvidia's market dominance.

BISinfotech
Aug 18th, 2025
Rivos Targets $500M Funding to Rival NVIDIA GPUs

U.S.-based semiconductor startup Rivos is aiming to raise between $400 million and $500 million to develop advanced graphics processing units (GPUs) designed to compete directly with NVIDIA in the fast-growing artificial intelligence (AI) chip market.

SiliconANGLE Media
Aug 15th, 2025
AI chip startup Rivos reportedly seeking up to $500M in funding

Santa Clara, California-based Rivos is reportedly developing a chip optimized for artificial intelligence inference.

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