Lead Thermal Mechanical Engineer

Job Description

Location: Chandler, AZ or Vancouver, WA

Hybrid: 3 days a week onsite

About Us

Powerlattice is a well-funded semiconductor start-up company backed by well-known large Silicon Valley VCs. The company is working on the industry’s groundbreaking chiplet solution for a fundamental shift in how high-performance chips get powered, paving the way for the next generation of AI and advanced computing.

About The Role

We’re a fast-moving startup building the foundation for next-generation AI compute. We are seeking a hands-on technical leader to develop the next-generation thermal management solutions for advanced power delivery chiplet technologies targeting AI/data center platforms. This role is at the intersection of semiconductor packaging, thermal architecture, mechanical integration, and high-volume manufacturing. You will work closely with internal silicon, package, reliability, and operations teams, while interfacing directly with Tier-1 customers, OSATs, substrate vendors, material suppliers, and ecosystem partners.

You will develop novel thermal solutions spanning:

Landside cooling architectures
Embedded thermal structures integrated into substrate cores
Novel package-level thermal integration concept

Why This Role Matters

This is an opportunity to work on disruptive semiconductor packaging technology with the potential to redefine power delivery and thermal integration in next-generation computing systems. You will have significant ownership, technical influence, and the ability to shape solutions that could become industry firsts.

What You’ll Do

Drive thermal-mechanical co-design across chiplet, package substrate, cold plate, heatsink, and system-level integration.
Collaborate with package design teams to optimize stack-up, warpage, stiffness, CTE management, and assembly robustness.
Evaluate emerging cooling technologies including direct-to-chip liquid cooling, embedded cooling, vapor chamber integration, and advanced TIM solutions.
Perform detailed thermal and thermo-mechanical simulations using industry-standard tools.
Define integration strategies enabling customer adoption of novel thermal solutions into final package assembly flows.
Collaborate with OSATs, substrate suppliers, thermal solution vendors, and manufacturing partners to enable scalable deployment.

What You Bring

MS or PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Thermal Engineering, Materials Science, or related field.
10+ years of experience in semiconductor thermal engineering, advanced packaging, or high-performance computing systems.
Experience with thermal and thermo-mechanical simulation tools such as ANSYS, Icepak, COMSOL, Abaqus, or equivalent.
Experience developing thermal solutions for high-power semiconductor devices or advanced packaging applications.
Strong understanding of reliability physics including warpage, CTE mismatch, TIM performance, and thermal cycling.
Knowledge of package assembly processes, substrate manufacturing, and OSAT workflows.

Compensation & Benefits

Anticipated annual base salary: $175,000 - $225,000

Stock option grant
Comprehensive benefits package including health, dental, vision, and 401(k)