Lead Thermal Engineer

Overview

Lead the design, testing, verification and system integration of industrial liquid chillers and thermal management subsystems for utility-scale Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), as the core technical owner of liquid cooling performance, efficiency, reliability and regulatory compliance.

What you'll do

• Architect, specify and integrate industrial liquid chillers, active refrigeration loops, pumps and fluid distribution circuits into utility-scale BESS enclosures.
• Develop, review and maintain P&IDs, fluid routing specifications, hydraulic balancing and chiller specification sheets.
• Establish and validate chiller-to-system communications and control loops using Modbus (TCP/RTU), including register mapping, telemetry, alarm thresholds and safety handshakes.
• Design and execute thermal validation plans, refrigeration performance protocols (AHRI 550/590) and plumbing/hydraulic pressure and leak tests (ASME B31.3 / B31.5).
• Ensure chiller subsystems and power electronics/drives comply with international safety, environmental and EMC/EMI standards (UL 60335 2-40, IEC 61000 series, FCC Part 15, UL 9540, NFPA 855, ASHRAE 15/34).
• Lead Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT) at contract manufacturer and supplier sites, acting as primary engineering authority for validation sign-offs and quality audits.
• Collaborate with mechanical, electrical, firmware/software, safety and field commissioning teams to ensure seamless hardware and controls integration.
• Conduct root cause failure analyses (RCFA) on thermal components during prototyping, qualification and field operation, driving design improvements and corrective actions.
• Support manufacturing and commissioning teams by troubleshooting thermal, hydraulic and communication issues in test labs and field deployments.

What you'll need

• Bachelor's or master's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Thermal/Fluid Engineering, Aerospace Engineering or a related discipline.
• 8+ years of professional engineering experience in liquid chiller design, refrigeration systems, HVAC development or thermal management in the energy storage, industrial or power sectors.
• Strong, demonstrated experience in sizing chillers and subcomponents (compressor, condenser, evaporator, expansion valve, etc.).
• Hands-on experience with SOLKANE, XProps, CoilDesigner, VapCyc, thermodynamic calculation and similar tools.
• Hands-on proficiency with Modbus (TCP/RTU) register mapping, testing and troubleshooting.
• In-depth understanding of AHRI 550/590, ASHRAE 15, ASHRAE 34, ASME B31.3 and ASME B31.5.
• Practical experience of instrumentation and testing chillers.
• Proven track record leading vendor evaluations, qualification testing and supplier Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT).
• Excellent communication skills and ability to lead and collaborate effectively within international, multi-disciplinary teams.
• Fluent in English.

Nice to have

• Experience with utility-scale Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) or renewable energy balance of plant (BOP).
• Familiarity with data analysis tools (Python/Visual Basics) and 1D simulation tools (Dymola/MATLAB).
• Demonstrated project management and technical vendor management capabilities.
• A passion for clean energy, decarbonization and sustainable technologies.
• Fluency in additional languages.

Details

• Location: India - Bangalore.
• Ability and willingness to travel up to 20–30% to testing facilities, supplier sites and contract manufacturing plants globally.