Head of Platform Mechanical & Thermal Engineering, Etched
$225-275k
Office located in San Jose, CA
Designing specialised chips for language model inference
Job no longer available
Designing specialised chips for language model inference
21-100 employees
Job no longer available
$225-275k
Office located in San Jose, CA
21-100 employees
Company mission
To create the world’s most powerful servers for transformer inference.
Role
Who you are
- 10+ years of experience in mechanical and thermal engineering for high-performance computing systems, with at least 5+ years in leadership roles
- Proven expertise in liquid cooling architectures for high-power density ASICs or GPUs
- Proficiency with Siemens NX for 3D CAD; experience scaling CAD/PLM environments across teams
- Hands-on experience with Flowtherm, Ansys Icepak, and MacroFlow for CFD and rack-level thermal modeling
- Strong record of bringing complex server or datacenter platforms from concept through production
- Deep understanding of thermal validation, fluid integrity testing, and mechanical reliability for liquid-cooled systems
- Bachelor’s or Master’s in Mechanical Engineering, Thermal Engineering, or related field
What the job involves
- Our Platform Team designs the servers and systems that deliver our chips’ full potential
- We are seeking a Head of Platform Mechanical & Thermal Engineering to lead all aspects of mechanical architecture, advanced cooling, and CAD infrastructure for next-generation high-power density ASIC systems
- This leader will build and scale the mechanical and thermal engineering organization, with a strong focus on liquid cooling technologies and rack-level thermal management
- Siemens NX is our standard 3D CAD platform, and you will also drive the deployment of industry-leading CFD and rack simulation tools to ensure performance, manufacturability, and reliability at datacenter scale
- Build, mentor, and scale a team of mechanical and thermal engineers
- Define hiring plans and technical standards for advanced cooling and mechanical design
- Foster a culture of engineering rigor and cross-disciplinary collaboration
- Own the design of server enclosures, modules, and racks optimized for high-power ASICs
- Drive liquid cooling solutions (cold plates, manifolds, quick-disconnects, CDU integration) as well as air-assisted hybrid cooling where applicable
- Ensure mechanical designs meet standards for manufacturability, serviceability, and reliability under extreme thermal loads
- Deploy and optimize Siemens NX for CAD/PLM workflows, with integrated libraries and release processes
- Establish and scale simulation infrastructure, including:
- Flowtherm and Ansys Icepak for detailed CFD of component and system thermal behavior
- MacroFlow for rack-level and datacenter fluid dynamics modeling
- Standardize validation workflows linking simulation to hardware measurements
- Define test plans for thermal performance, fluid integrity, and long-term reliability of liquid cooling systems
- Oversee lab infrastructure for thermal and mechanical validation at both module and rack scale
- Partner with electrical and system validation teams to ensure holistic system readiness
- Collaborate closely with silicon, electrical, and system engineers to co-optimize cooling with chip and board power delivery
- Engage with suppliers, ODMs, and datacenter partners to align design with deployment environments
- Represent mechanical and thermal engineering in executive reviews, providing visibility into risks, milestones, and resources
Our take
With AI developing rapidly, the chips that power them are doing so too. The computing requirements of technologies such as Chat GPT will increasingly require customised, hard-wired chips called ASICS, designed specially for the execution of AI models. Whilst GPUs are currently used for AI computing, Etched is making a bet on AI-hardwired chips becoming the predominant powering force of AI.
It’s a gamble, the founders themselves know that if transformers become obsolete, so will their AI-powering product. The SOHU chip that Etched builds differs from GPUs in that it has the AI architecture etched into the chip itself. General Processing Units are “general” and costly, so Etched is betting on specialised transformers taking their place in the near future.
Investors are drawn to Etched’s boldness. The 2022-founded company achieved $120 million in Series A funding just two years into its life, and received a further $500 million at the start of 2026. Etched plans to use this to amp up its competition with GPU company Nvidia, and claims to be 20 times faster than the latter’s AI-powered general processor - and significantly less costly too. Time will tell if Etched’s exciting and potentially revolutionary bet on tailored AI chips and transformers pays off.
Steph
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Company
Funding (last 2 of 3 rounds)
Jan 2026
$500m
LATE VC
Jun 2024
$120m
SERIES A
Total funding: $625.4m
Company benefits
- Competitive Salary and Equity - We offer a competitive salary and equity package that aligns with industry standards
- Benefits - Your wellbeing is important to us. We offer unlimited PTO, life insurance, and a 401(k)
- Full Insurance Coverage - Our insurance includes full medical, dental, and vision with 100% of premium covered
Company HQ
Horace Mann and SJSU, San Jose, CA
Leadership
Robert Wachen
(Co-Founder & President)Also the Co-Founder of Prod and Mentor Labs, Birthday Cakes 4 Free Maryland and Generate Sales Online.
Gavin Uberti
(Co-Founder & CEO)Previously Software Engineer at OctoML, Algorithms and BAckend Engineer at Coursedog and was a Software Engineer Intern at Xnor.ai.
Chris Zhu
(Co-Founder)Was a Teaching Fellow at Harvard and a Software Engineering Intern at Amazon and AvantStay. Was an Analyst at Harvard Undergraduate Capital Partners.
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