Vertiv

Builds power and cooling systems for data centers

Senior Principal Engineer

Thermal & Fluids EngineeringConfirmed live in the last 24 hours

Full-timeShenzhen, Guangdong Province, ChinaNo salary listedIn-person

About the Job

Requirements

A bachelor’s degree or above in Thermal Engineering, Refrigeration & Cryogenic Engineering, Energy & Power Engineering, or a related thermal discipline.
At least 10 years of hands-on experience in direct expansion refrigeration system design and development, with a solid understanding of vapor-compression refrigeration cycles, two-phase heat transfer, refrigerant properties, and direct expansion system control principles.
Proven experience in direct expansion system sizing, component matching, performance testing, and troubleshooting; familiarity with refrigeration components including scroll compressors, fin-tube evaporators and condensers, thermostatic or electronic expansion valves, accumulators, and oil separators.
Experience using thermal simulation tools such as EES, CoolProp, Fluent, or system cycle simulation tools; ability to perform thermal load calculations and system performance analysis.
Familiarity with relevant industry standards for cooling equipment, product reliability test methodology, and environmental and safety requirements for refrigerants.
Ability to read and write English for technical documents and global cross-team communication.

Responsibilities

Lead system-level design of direct expansion cooling systems, including refrigeration cycle scheme definition, thermal load calculation, refrigerant matching, and selection and matching of compressors, evaporators, condensers, expansion devices, and control logic.
Conduct thermal and fluid simulation for heat transfer, refrigerant two-phase flow, and pressure drop, and predict system performance; define test specifications, organize bench and prototype testing, analyze test data, identify performance bottlenecks, and drive design iteration.
Own reliability and robustness assessment of direct expansion cooling systems; evaluate system behavior under extreme ambient, partial-load, and transient operating conditions; identify failure modes and propose mitigation solutions.
Collaborate with mechanical, electrical, controls, manufacturing, and quality teams to translate system requirements into detailed design, support design-for-manufacturing reviews, and resolve technical risks during prototype, pilot, and mass-production phases.
Provide technical support for product validation, field commissioning, and customer escalations; diagnose complex direct expansion system issues, including capacity deviation, hunting, liquid flood-back, noise, and reliability failure, and implement corrective actions.
Track direct expansion cooling technologies, refrigerants, components, and standards; conduct benchmarking, technical feasibility studies, and technology pre-research for next-generation thermal platforms.
Compile system design documents, calculation reports, test plans, technical specifications, and lessons learned; mentor junior thermal engineers and build direct expansion system capability within the team.

Desired Qualifications

Experience with direct expansion systems for data center or mission-critical cooling.
Hands-on experience with low-global-warming-potential refrigerant application and system design optimization.
Background in refrigeration circuit system controls and electronic expansion valve control algorithm tuning.
Experience leading direct expansion cooling new product introduction from concept to mass production.

Key Responsibilities

Lead the system-level design of direct expansion cooling systems, including refrigeration cycle scheme definition, thermal load calculation, refrigerant matching, compressor, evaporator, condenser, expansion device and control logic selection & matching.
Conduct thermal & fluid simulation (heat transfer, refrigerant two-phase flow, pressure drop) and system performance prediction; define test specifications, organize bench & prototype testing, analyze test data, identify performance bottlenecks and drive design iteration.
Own reliability and robustness assessment of DX cooling systems, evaluate system behaviors under extreme ambient, partial load and transient operating conditions; identify failure modes and propose mitigation solutions.
Collaborate closely with mechanical, electrical, controls, manufacturing and quality teams to translate system requirements into detailed design, support DFM review, resolve technical risks during prototype, pilot and mass production phases.
Provide technical support for product validation, field commissioning and customer escalations; diagnose complex DX system issues (capacity deviation, hunting, liquid flood-back, noise, reliability failure) and implement corrective actions.
Track industry latest DX cooling technologies, refrigerants, components and standards; conduct benchmarking, technical feasibility study and technology pre-research for next-generation thermal platforms.
Compile system design documents, calculation reports, test plans, technical specifications and lessons learned; mentor junior thermal engineers and build up DX system capability within the team.

Required Qualifications & Skills

Bachelor or above in Thermal Engineering, Refrigeration & Cryogenic Engineering, Energy & Power Engineering or related thermal discipline.
10+ years hands-on experience in direct expansion refrigeration system design & development, solid understanding of vapor-compression refrigeration cycle, two-phase heat transfer, refrigerant properties and DX system control principles.
Proven experience in DX system sizing, component matching, performance testing and troubleshooting; familiar with refrigeration components: scroll/compressor, fin-tube evaporator/condenser, TXV/EEV, accumulator, oil separator.
Experience using thermal simulation tools (e.g., EES, CoolProp, Fluent, or system cycle simulation tools); capable of thermal load calculation and system performance analysis.
Familiar with relevant industry standards for cooling equipment, product reliability test methodology, environmental & safety requirements for refrigerants.
Strong systematic thinking, good cross-team communication ability; able to prioritize multiple development projects under tight schedules.
Good English reading & writing capability for technical documents and global cross-team communication.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience in data center / mission critical cooling DX systems is a strong plus.
Hands-on experience with low-GWP refrigerant application and system design optimization.
Background in system controls for refrigeration circuits, EEV control algorithm tuning.
Experience leading DX cooling new product introduction (NPI) from concept to mass production.

About the Company

Vertiv

Builds power and cooling systems for data centers

Vertiv builds power and cooling equipment that keeps data centers, communication networks, and industrial facilities running through outages and heavy computing loads. Its Liebert cooling systems manage the heat generated by servers, while its power products protect equipment and distribute electricity. The company sells equipment directly and through distributors, then earns additional revenue from installation, maintenance, spare parts, and services throughout the equipment life cycle. Its portfolio also includes racks and software for monitoring and managing IT equipment. Vertiv became a standalone company in 2016 and is headquartered in Westerville, Ohio.

Company size: 10,001+
Company stage: IPO
Headquarters: Westerville, OH
Founded: 2016

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