
Thermal Principal Engineer
Required skills
- Thermal architecture
- Thermal design
- Validation
- Network Switches
- Mechanical engineering
- Electrical engineering
- Hardware engineering
- Power engineering
- System engineering
- Cooling solutions
Nice to have
- CREO
- Air cooling
- Liquid cooling
- Server electronics
- Network electronics
- GPU cooling
Role summary
Dell's Infrastructure Solutions Group (ISG) is seeking a Thermal Principal Engineer to design and validate thermal architectures for next-generation Network Switches and integrated rack solutions. This role involves collaborating with cross-functional teams to develop innovative cooling solutions for high-performance networking platforms supporting AI, HPC, and cloud workloads. Responsibilities include utilizing thermal simulation, laboratory testing, and data-driven analysis to optimize system performance, reliability, and efficiency, as well as owning key thermal technologies and roadmaps. The ideal candidate will have a BS/MS in Mechanical Engineering with a focus on thermal engineering, 8+ years of experience, and expertise in CFD modeling and thermal testing.
Infrastructure Solutions Group (ISG) builds the products that power infrastructure, solutions, and data management our customers need most. Our teams design and develop the hardware and software that connect infrastructure, accelerate computational workloads, integrate across the stack, protect data continuity, and deliver the platforms, applications, and diagnostics our customers rely on every day at enterprise scale.
Some product builders follow the rules. Ours rewrite them.
Within ISG, innovation isn't just about creating new technology- it's about challenging assumptions and reimagining how work gets done. Engineers define intent, author precise specifications, and orchestrate AI agents that execute at speed and scale. AI is embedded throughout our development process, helping us move faster, learn quicker, and deliver greater impact. Yet the most important contribution remains uniquely human: deciding what to build, designing how it should work, and applying the judgment needed to earn our customers' trust. When your products power critical infrastructure around the world, that responsibility matters.
We move quickly toward the work that matters most. We reward experimentation, encourage bold thinking, and remove unnecessary barriers so great ideas can become reality faster. Our teams embrace a customer-first, first-to-market mindset, transforming rapid feedback into better products and better outcomes. We aren't looking for people who are content with the status quo- we look for builders who question it, improve it, and occasionally rewrite it.
If you're energized by solving complex systems challenges, excited to work alongside AI to amplify your impact, and motivated by the opportunity to shape what's next instead of simply maintaining what's been done before, you'll find your place here.
Responsibilities
Thermal Senior Principal Engineer
Join us as a Thermal Senior Principal Engineer on our Network Engineer Hardware team in Franklin, MA or Austin, TX to do the best work of your career and make a profound social impact.
What you’ll achieve
As a Thermal Engineer, you will be responsible for the thermal architecture, design, and validation of Dell's next-generation Network Switches (L10) and Network L11 integrated rack solutions. Working across mechanical, electrical, hardware, power, and system engineering teams, you will develop innovative cooling solutions for high-performance networking platforms supporting AI, HPC, and cloud workloads. Utilizing thermal simulation, laboratory testing, characterization, and data-driven analysis, you will evaluate product concepts, drive thermal feasibility assessments, and optimize system performance, reliability, and efficiency. The role includes ownership of key thermal technologies and roadmaps that enable future generations of networking, optics, and rack-scale infrastructure solutions.
You will:
- Work with key stakeholders to align on product requirements, performance metrics, and boundary conditions
- Develop approach to evaluate all thermal aspects of a product concept, considering constraints on prototype availability, product schedule, and thermal risk
- Develop thermal solutions internally or with vendor partners including heat sinks, cold plates, air movers, air shrouds, sealing, thermal interface material, venting, thermal controls, and more
- Present findings to thermal engineers and management to identify problem areas and opportunities to improve design for cost, power, and cooling efficiency
- Follow existing practices and procedures for product development. Develop and improve practices and procedures where necessary or desirable
Qualifications
Take the first step towards your dream career
Every Dell Technologies team member brings something unique to the table. Here’s what we are looking for with this role:
Essential Requirements
- BS or Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering with a focus on thermal engineering + 8 years of relevant industry experience
- Experience in CFD modelling for internal flow and electronic cooling applications
- Proven experience instrumenting thermal tests and test plans
- Strong communication skills with multi-disciplinary teams; strong drive to work through challenging compromises to achieve the optimal thermal solution
Desirable Requirements
- Experience working with CREO, experience with air and liquid cooling in server or network electronics industry
- Knowledge of cooling requirements for GPU’s or CPU’s or NPU’s or rack L11
Compensation
Dell is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices. The salary range for this position is $164k - $226k.
Benefits and Perks of working at Dell Technologies
Your life. Your health. Supported by your benefits. You can explore the overall benefits experience that awaits you as a Dell Technologies team member — right now at MyWellatDell.com
Sample Dell Technologies interview questions
- 1
Develop a service to manage configuration in distributed systems.
system designmedium - 2
Design a system for real-time processing of financial market data.
system designmedium - 3
Design a system for processing large datasets (Big Data).
system designmedium - 4
Create a system for analyzing satellite images in real-time.
system designmedium
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